How One Country Drastically Cut Its Newborn Death Rate
A UNICEF report cites "alarmingly high" death rates for newborns in many countries. But Bangladesh stands out for its remarkable progress.
There were some glimmers of good news in an otherwise grim report released this week documenting the alarmingly high death rate of newborns worldwide: Bangladesh has managed to cut its newborn mortality rate from 64.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 20.1 per 1,000 today. That's 1 in every 50 births. By comparison, in neighboring Pakistan (which has the worst odds of any country) 1 in every 22 newborns doesn't survive.
