Estimated 200,390 babies were reportedly born on the 2018 New
Year’s day globally, reports ITRealms.
The Acting Representative of UNICEF Nigeria, Mr. Terry
Durnnian, made this disclosure to ITRealms, saying that the record represents some
nine countries under surveillance, just as UNICEF urges nations around the
world to ensure the newborns survive their first days of life.
UNICEF pointed out that Kiribati’s Christmas Island, a small
island in the Pacific, welcomed 2018’s first baby while the United States, was
the last.
Over half of these births, UNICEF noted are estimated to
take place in nine countries comprising Nigeria -20,210; India - 69,070, China
— 44,760, Pakistan — 14,910, Indonesia — 13,370, United States of America —
11,280, Democratic Republic of Congo — 9,400, Ethiopia — 9,020 and Bangladesh —
8,370.
While many babies will survive, some will not make it past
their first day. In 2016, an estimated 2,600 children died every day of the
year, on the day they were born. For almost 2 million newborns, their first
week was also their last. In all, 2.6 million children died before the end of
their first month. Among those children, more than 80 per cent of all newborn
deaths are due to preventable and treatable causes such as premature birth,
complications during delivery, and infections like sepsis and pneumonia.
“This New Year,
UNICEF’s global resolution is to help give every child more than an hour, more
than a day, more than a month - more than survival. We call on the government
and partners to join the fight to save the lives of millions children by providing
proven, low-cost solutions,” he said.
Over the past two decades, the world has seen unprecedented
progress in child survival, halving the number of children worldwide who die
before their fifth birthday to 5.6 million in 2016. But despite these advances,
there has been slower progress for newborns. Babies dying in the first month
account for 46 per cent of all deaths among children under five.
Further, ITRealms reports that next month, UNICEF will launch Every Child Alive, a global
campaign to demand and deliver affordable, quality health care solutions for
every mother and newborn. These include a steady supply of clean water and
electricity at health facilities, the presence of a skilled health attendant
during birth, disinfecting the umbilical cord, breastfeeding within the first
hour after birth, and skin-to-skin contact between the mother and child.
“We are now entering
the era when the entire world’s newborns should have the opportunity to see the
22nd Century. Unfortunately, nearly half of the children born this year likely
won’t. A child born in Sweden in January 2018 is most likely to live to 2100,
while a child from Nigeria would be unlikely to live beyond year 2072,” Durnnian
said.
Uj. N. Dominic/GEE
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