Newborn mortality: India 12th worst among low-income countries

HIGHLIGHTS

• Pakistan is the worst with 45.6 newborn deaths per 1,000 live births, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).

• Japan, with an NMR of 0.9 deaths per 1,000 live births, has been ranked the world's safest country in which to be born.

India has been ranked 12th-worst among 52 low-middle income countries based on the number of children dying within the first month of their birth, which is 25.4 per 1,000 live births.

Pakistan is the worst with 45.6 newborn deaths per 1,000 live births, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) which has, for the first time, come out with rankings based on their newborn mortality rate (the number of deaths per 1,000 live births).

Japan, with an NMR of 0.9 deaths per 1,000 live births, has been ranked the world's safest country in which to be born followed by Iceland (1) and Singapore (1.1). The US's NMR stands at 3.7, only slightly better than lower-middle income countries like Sri Lanka and Ukraine, and is ranked 15 among high-income countries.

Unicef says newborn survival is closely linked to a country's income level. "High-income countries have an average NMR of just 3. In comparison, lowincome countries have an NMR of 27. This gap is significant. If every country brought its NMR to the high-income average, or below, by 2030, 16 million newborn lives could be saved," the UN body says.

It adds that more than 80% of newborn deaths are the result of premature birth, complications during labour and delivery and infections such as sepsis, meningitis and pneumonia. "Babies born to mothers with no education face almost twice the risk of dying during the newborn period as compared to babies born to mothers with at least secondary education," said an official.