The worldwide mortality rate for children under five was shown to have dropped more than 50 percent Tuesday, according to a new report from UNICEF.
In 1990, 12.7 million children would die every year, but now in 2015, the number has dropped to just under 6 million, cutting the child mortality rate about 53 percent.
Though the number is smaller, 6 million is still a shocking number considering that there is so much that can still be done to further reduce the international death rate of children under five, like more accessible immunizations, mosquito nets treated with insecticide to prevent insect carried diseases, antibiotics and food supplements, according to NBC News.
"There are still over 16,000 children under 5 that die from preventable causes every day," said Dr. Linda Arnold of the Academy of Pediatrics.
An overwhelming percentage of those deaths, 45 percent, come from infants who die within the first month of being born.
Diseases, infections and premature birth are some of the causes for many of these infantile deaths, making prenatal care another top commodity in reducing the numbers further, according to KSL.
Though the numbers have dropped, the UN did not quite meet their goals. Later this month, the organization will be setting new goals for child death prevention for the next 15 years, according to DW.
