ASIA/INDIA - The country has the highest number of child deaths within the first 24 hours of life

New Delhi (Agenzia Fides) - Every year a million children die within 24 hours of birth, and 2 million before the age of 3 months old. This is what emerges in a recently published report by the NGO Save the Children, in which it also records the death of 287,000 women for causes related to maternity. The first day of a child's life is the most dangerous, especially in India, where 309,300 infants die each year before the first 24 hours of life. In "Surviving the first day. Status of motherhood 2013," the NGO ranks the Asian country as one with the highest number of maternal deaths in the world with 56,000 cases per year. In contrast to China, more populous than India, 'only' 5% of infants die. India, in percentage terms, exceeds the neighboring Bangladesh with 28,000 deaths per year. Despite the Democratic Republic of Congo is the worst place where to be a mother, South Asia registers alarming data respect to motherhood. This area of the world accounts for 24% of the global population, but 40% of newborn deaths occur in South Asia. Nearly two-thirds of these deaths occur in 10 countries: India, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Afghanistan and Tanzania. The birth of children underweight, premature births, lack of proper hygienic conditions, malnutrition of women and the lack of medical care are the main reasons for the deaths of children and mothers. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 10/05/2013)