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Infant mortality in DR Congo drops 30 pct: UNICEF

Xinhua, June 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has seen a 30 percent reduction in the number of deaths of children aged below five years, from 148 children out of 1,000 live births in 2007 to 104 deaths in 2013, according to a report of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The report on the situation of children that was released on Wednesday said the mortality rate across the country varies greatly in different parts of the country, with 139 deaths out of 1,000 live births in South Kivu province and 83 deaths in Kinshasa.

However, UNICEF noted that DR Congo, Niger, Ethiopia, India and Pakistan registered about half of the deaths of children aged below five years across the world.

"The challenge faced by DR Congo, just like other African countries, is ensuring that interventions to improve the health of children reach all who are in need of the medical services," the UNICEF report noted.

It recommended that DR Congo should invest in basic social sectors, besides paying particular attention to more vulnerable children as well as those who are difficult to reach. Endit