India’s under-5 mortality of girls exceeds that of boys, unlike global trend, says report

News: United Nations (UN) inter-agency group for child mortality released a report titled ‘Levels and Trends in Child Mortality’

Facts:

‘Levels and Trends in Child Mortality’: Key Takeaways

Global:

• Globally, 85% of deaths among children and young adolescents in 2018 occurred in the first five years of life
• Half of all under-5 deaths in 2018 occurred in five countries: India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia.

India:

• The mortality under-5 years of girls exceeded that of boys
• · The majority of child mortality cases are attributable to deaths during the neonatal period.
• The major causes of neonatal mortality are pre-term birth, intrapartum related events, and neonatal infection.
• In the post-neonatal period, the major direct causes of death are diarrhea and pneumonia.

Additional Information:

Under-five mortality rate – Probability of dying between birth and five years of age expressed per 1,000 live births.