1.2 mln children under 5 die in India in 2015: UNICEF

Around 1.2 million children died of preventable causes in India in 2015 before celebrating their fifth birthday, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Tuesday.

The UNICEF in a report said this is a grim reminder of abysmal state of child healthcare in the world's fastest growing major economy.

Most of the deaths were caused by diseases easily preventable and treatable, according to the report released Tuesday, which counts India among the five countries accounting for half the 5.9 million under-five deaths reported across the world last year.

The other four countries are the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Pakistan, according to the report.

"Some countries in the fast lane for global economic growth - including India and Nigeria - have been in the slower lane for child mortality reduction," said the State of the World's Children 2016 report.

"The policy lesson: Economic growth can help but does not guarantee improved child survival, and a country's income need not hinder progress," it added.

In India, premature and neonatal birth complications account for 39 percent of the children's mortalities, followed by pneumonia with 14.9 percent, diarrhoea with 9.8 percent and sepsis with 7.9 percent.

Meanwhile, India's under-five mortality rate, which means deaths per 1,000 live births, has improved to 48 from 126 in 1990, said the UNICEF, adding that Nepal and Bangladesh have a better rate of 36 and 38 respectively. Endit