NZ in a position to help lower 'concerning' newborn mortality rates in the PacificDAVID GRAY/REUTERS Unicef says NZ could do more to help tackle the high newborn mortality rate in the Pacific. Unicef's Every Child Alive report shows Kiwi babies have a good chance of surviving their first month, but global deaths of newborn babies remained high. ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ Unicef NZ chief executive Vivien Maidaborn says it doesn't take much to improve access to vaccines, education about diet, and better health services to help lower neonatal mortality rates. If every country brought its newborn mortality rate down to the high-income average by 2030, 16 million lives could be saved, Unicef said. NEED TO HELP OUR NEIGHBOURSWhile New Zealand needed to do better to continue to lower its stagnating neonatal mortality rate, newborn deaths in the Pacific were a cause for great concern.

Source: Stuff February 19, 2018 23:13 UTC