Child mortality, also known as under-5 mortality, refers to the death of infants and children under the age of five. In 2011, 6.9 million children under five died, down from 7.6 million in 2010, 8.1 million in 2009, and 12.4 million in 1990. About half of child deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa. Reduction of child mortality is the fourth of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.
Child Mortality Rate is the highest in third world countries, such as Africa and Brazil. A child's death is emotionally and physically damaging for the mourning parents. Many deaths in the third world go unnoticed since many poor families cannot afford to register their babies in the government registry.
Read more about Child Mortality: Causes, Prevention, Rate, Highest Rates in The World
Famous quotes containing the word child:
“I know that each stage is not going to last forever. I used to think that when he was little. Whenever he was in a bad stage I thought that he was going to be like that for the rest of his life and that I’d better do something to shape him up. When he was in a good state, I thought he was going to be a perfect child and I would never have to worry; he was always going to stay that way.”
—Anonymous Parent of An Eight-Year-Old. As quoted in Between Generations by Ellen Galinsky, ch. 4 (1981)