International Perspective mortality rate – the probability of a child dying between birth and exactly five years of age expressed per 1,000 live births – are shaped by a myriad of socialeconomic disadvantages . Child survival chances follow the contours of education levels of the mother , ethnicity and the rural-urban divide among other factors .
African countries occupy the top 10 positions in global under-five mortality rankings , the child report shows . Angola , highest ranked country in the global under-five- mortality rate , has a rate of 157 deaths per 1000 live births . Chad and Somalia complete the first three positions of the highest global under five mortality rates of 139 and 137 respectively .
“ A child born in Sierra Leone today is about 30 times more likely to die before age 5 than a child born in the United Kingdom . Children born in sub-Saharan Africa are 12 times more likely than their counterparts in high-income countries to die before their fifth birthday , just as they were in 1990 ,” the report reads .
UNICEF calls for countries to accelerate progress pace in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs )
noting that “ to meet the 2030 goals , the pace of progress in the next 15 years will have to outpace that of the Millennium Development Goals ( MDGs ) period .”
Further , UNICEF warns of “ enormous ” consequences and costs if the rate of implementing the SDGs fails to outpace that of MDGs . The report estimates that 70 million children under age 5 will die between 2016 and 2030 . If the trends of the past 15 years continue for the next one and a half decades , the report says , “ 3.6 million children will die in 2030 alone , the deadline year for the Sustainable Development Goals .
“ Children in sub-Saharan Africa will be 10 times more likely to die before their fifth birthdays than children in highincome countries .”
“ By 2030 , an estimated 167 million children , the great majority in sub- Saharan Africa , will still be living in extreme poverty .” UNICEF says in the report .
According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey ( KDHS ) 2014 , infant mortality rate in Kenya stands at 39 deaths per 1,000 live births while under-5 mortality stands at 52 deaths per 1,000 live births .
However , UNICEF slots Kenya at number 49 th in the world with an under five mortality rate of 46 , better off 28 places from Burundi which has the highest under-5- mortality rate in Eastern Africa at 82 deaths per 1000 live births . Uganda is ranked 40 th with an under-5- mortality rate of 55 while Tanzania is placed 46 th with a mortality rate of 49 .
According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2014 , Nyanza region has the highest under-5 mortality in Kenya recording 82 deaths while Nairobi is second with 72 deaths per 1000 live births . Central Kenya has an under-five mortality rate of 42 deaths per 1,000 live births , the lowest in the country . In Kenya , “ the highest under-5 mortality rate by education is among those born to mothers with an incomplete primary education ( 63 deaths per 1,000 live births ).” KDHS states .
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