Eight children under the age of five die every minutes in Africa from diseases for which vaccines are available, according to figures revealed by the United Nations on Tuesday.
The children mainly died as a result of polio, tetanus and measles, said a statement released at a meeting between representatives of Portuguese-speaking governments in Africa, the UN's World Health Organisation (WHO) and children's fund UNICEF.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome / Cot Death
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is death of a baby, under one year of age that occurs in sleep and cannot be explained.
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The meeting, being held until August 31 in the the Mozambican capital, aims at increasing child vaccination in the African continent.
Around 155 out of every 1,000 children born in Africa die before the age of five, according to the UN. The WHO and UNICEF aim to halve the rate by 2015.
Source: AFP
JAY/J
Source: AFP
JAY/J
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