Unicef report says Pakistan riskiest country for a baby to be born in, India at number 12

Pakistan is the most dangerous country for a baby to be born in, according to a new Unicef report.

The report on neonatal mortality, released on Tuesday, says global deaths of newborn babies remain alarmingly high, particularly among the world's poorest countries. While Pakistan tops this list, the other risky countries are Central African Republic and Afghanistan. Babies born in Japan, Iceland and Singapore have the best chance at survival.

India though performs better than Pakistan when it comes to deaths of newborn - it is ranked 12 - it performs poorly in comparison to its other "low-income" neighbours like Sri Lanka, which is at number 52 in the Unicef's 'Every Child Alive' list.

While Pakistan has a newborn mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births) of 45.6, India reports 25.4 newborn deaths, one of the highest in the world.

The differences are stark. A baby born in Pakistan faced a one in 22 chance of death, while a newborn in Japan had only a one in 1,111 risk of dying, the report said. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, has a newborn mortality rate of 5.3, comparable to some of the high income countries.

"Though infant mortality in the country has declined considerably, the number of newborns dying each year remains unacceptably high. India, with nearly 600,000 newborn deaths each year, accounts for a quarter of the global burden of neonatal deaths," said Unicef in report.

The report is based on a child's survival during the neonatal period - first 28 days of life - the most vulnerable time. Children face the highest risk of dying in their first month of life, at a global rate of 19 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Each year, some 2.6 million babies do not survive through their first month.

More than 80 per cent of newborn deaths can be prevented, the report says, "with access to well-trained midwives, along with proven solutions like clean water, disinfectants, breast-feeding within the first hour, skin-to-skin contact and good nutrition."

But shortages of properly trained health workers and midwives are a major problem in poorer nations.

While a rich country like Norway has 18 doctors, nurses and midwives for every 10,000 people, impoverished Somalia has only one.

"India is currently off-track to meet the SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) target for neonatal mortality of 12 by 2030," said the report. However, the country has made impressive progress in reduction of under-five mortality and with the current rate of decline "is on track to meet the SDG target for the under-five mortality of 25 per 1000 live births by 2030."

India registered a reduction of 66 per cent in under-five deaths during 1990 to 2015, nearly meeting its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target. In comparison, the decline in under-five mortality for the world was 55 per cent.

The recent progress is even better, with 120,000 fewer deaths in 2016 as compared to 2015. The number of annual under-five deaths in India has gone below one million for the first time in 2016, said the agency.