The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that 392,000 babies will have been born on the first day of 2020.
However, while children’s lifespans are improving, too many infants die before reaching the age of five years, the UN fund noted on Wednesday.
In 2018, the number of babies who died in their first month amounted to 2.5 million, a third of them on their first day. Most of these deaths were avoidable, according to UNICEF.
Deaths within one month of life made up 47% of all deaths among children under the age of five years in 2018, up from 40% in 1990.
UNICEF reiterated its calls for better protection and care for mothers and their newborns, who, in many cases, are not assisted by a trained midwife or nurses, which has devastating consequences.
According to the fund, the highest number of births, about 67,385, will have been registered in India on Wednesday, followed by China, where 46,299 were expected, then Nigeria, with 26,039.
Next in line were Pakistan, where 16,787 were expected, Indonesia (13,020), the U.S.A (10,452), the Democratic Republic of Congo (10,247) and Ethiopia (8,493).
Oscar Schneider
The Brussels Times
