It is estimated that over 7 million perinatal losses occur globally yearly. The highest rates of perinatal and neonatal loss are in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (Bhutta & Black, 2013). Ten countries bear nearly two thirds of the global burden of such tragic losses (www.unicef.org/media/files/2013_ IGME_child_mortality_Report.pdf). Among the 75 Millennium Countdown countries accounting for 98% of neonatal deaths, it is estimated that only 17 of these countries will reach Millennium Development Goal #4, which targets reducing childhood mortality by 2015.
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