(UN News)* — A “silent emergency” that is claiming one million tiny lives born premature each year requires concerted action to swiftly improve children’s health and survival, according to a new report released by UN agencies and partners on .
An estimated 13.4 million babies were born premature in 2020, with nearly a million dying from pre-term complications, according to Born too soon: Decade of action on preterm birth.
Produced by a range of agencies, including the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), with its Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), the report outlines a strategy forward to address this phenomenon, which has been long under-recognized in its scale and severity.
But, for hundreds of thousands of women globally, this gratitude only goes so far, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said on the occasion of Mother’s Day, observed on Sundays (14 May) throughout May.According to recently released data, a woman dies from pregnancy or childbirth every two minutes, with the vast majority of these deaths due to preventable causes like bleeding and infection, the UN reproductive health agency said.