One million newborn died within 24 hours

One million babies each year died within 24 hours of birth from mostly preventable causes, a UN report said Tuesday.

The report, released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), is the second in a series intended to track progress on child survival and hold the governments accountable.

“The data clearly demonstrate that an infant’s chances of survival increase dramatically when their mother has sustained access to quality health care during pregnancy and delivery,” Geeta Rao Gupta, UNICEF’s deputy executive director, said in a statement.

“Special efforts must also be made to ensure that the most vulnerable are reached,” Gupta added.

Since 1990, the number of under-five years old children’s deaths has been cut in half from 12.7 million to 6.3 million. But more remains to be done. The first 28 days of a newborn’s life are the most vulnerable and as it stands now almost 2.8 million babies die each year.