Jamaica gets poor UNICEF rating

The newest UNICEF report has again raised concerns about the number of children dying before they reach five years old in Jamaica.



In the 2008 State of the World’s Children Report released today, Jamaica was ranked 88th for the estimated rate of death among children under five.



UNICEF reported Jamaica was ranked 88th because approximately 31 children died before their fifth birthday in 2006.



This was slightly better than the 1990 when 33 children died.



UNICEF said the rate of death in children, also called the child mortality rate, is a critical indicator of their well-being.



Sierra Leone received the worst child mortality rating, being ranked 1st for the estimated 270 children who died before they reached 5 in 2006.



The international children’s organisation said the global progress in reducing child mortality in not enough to attain the related Millennium Development Goal.



But it believes countries in Latin America and The Caribbean were on track in this regard.



According to the 2008 State of the World’s Children Report, 300,000 children under the age of five died in countries in Latin America and The Caribbean.