NAIROBI, 7 May 2008 (IRIN) - "One in every six children in sub-Saharan Africa still dies before age five," William Frist, the chairman of Save the Children's "Survive to 5 Campaign", stated in his forward to the report published on 6 May. "In some countries, parents don't name a child during the first six weeks of life because they fear the baby will not survive even its earliest days."
Save the Children published the report, State of the World's Mothers, to mark Mother's Day on 11 May. It ranks 55 developing countries on their effectiveness in reaching the poorest children with life-saving measures.
The report focuses on 200 million children under five, who do not get basic healthcare, according to Save the Children. It shows which countries are doing the best, and which are worst in reaching children with basic health measures.
"I believe medicine can serve as a currency for peace," Frist said. "I've seen those who once took up arms against one another unify and lay down their weapons to build health clinics. I've seen medicine inject hope where once there was only despair."
Charles MacCormack, president and chief executive officer of Save the Children, said in an introductory note that while child mortality rates in the developing world had declined in recent decades, "it is of no solace to the 26,000 mothers who must mourn the loss of a child each and every day".
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