Islamabad: The United nations (UN) children's agency has singled out Pakistan as the riskiest country for newborns, saying that out of every 1,000 children born in Pakistan, 46 die at birth.

The report is part of UNICEF's new campaign, launched on Tuesday, to raise awareness to bring down neonatal mortality rates.

UNICEF says that after Pakistan, the Central African Republic is the next riskiest country for newborns, and Afghanistan is the third.

The report says that "more than 80 per cent of all newborn deaths are caused by three preventable and treatable conditions".

The three are premature births, complications such as lack of oxygen at birth and neonatal infections, including sepsis and pneumonia.

It says as many as 3 million children could be saved each year with an investment in quality care at delivery.

 

1.2176386-635638619
A Pakistani health worker marks an infant after immunization with anti-polio drops an infant in a Christian colony situated in the slums of Islamabad, Pakistan. Gunmen shot dead a woman working on U.N.-backed polio vaccination efforts and her driver in northwestern Pakistan, officials said, just a day after similar attacks across the country killed several female polio workers. Image Credit: AP
Image Credit:
1.2176386-1969333877
The newborn baby boy had been turned away by other hospitals because of the severity of his condition. Image Credit: Courtesy: University Hospital Sharjah
View gallery as list