But progress slowed in the 1990s. And in most regions, a big effort will be needed to attain a two-thirds reduction by 2015. War and civil conflict. High levels of poverty and malnutrition. Poor access to basic education, especially for girls.
Infant deaths are most often the result of unhealthy conditions around the time of birth.
Pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria or measles frequently kill young children, especially those suffering from chronic malnutrition. Under-5 mortality rates are highest among the poorest, but they are high even for the relatively wealthy. Reducing infant and child deaths depends on greater investments in basic social services and on educating parents and improving nutrition, especially for the poor. Education empowers women to have smaller families, to provide better care for their children and to pass on knowledge that will improve their children's lives.