Approximately 8,093 babies will be born in Bangladesh on the first day of new year, 2020, according to UNICEF.
Bangladeshi babies will account for 2.06 per cent of the estimated 392,078 babies to be born globally on the day, reports bdnews24.com.
“The beginning of a new year and a new decade is an opportunity to reflect on our hopes and aspirations not only for our future, but the future of those who will come after us,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
“As the calendar flips each January, we are reminded of all the possibility and potential of each child embarking on her or his life’s journey—if they are just given that chance,” she said.
UNICEF has predicted that Fiji will deliver the first baby of 2020 and US its last.
Half of the births are estimated to take place in eight countries:
● India — 67,385
● China — 46,299
● Nigeria — 26,039
● Pakistan — 16,787
● Indonesia — 13,020
● The United States of America — 10,452
● The Democratic Republic of Congo — 10,247
● Ethiopia — 8,493
While many babies will survive, some will not make it past their first day. In 2018, 2.5 million newborns died in just their first month of life; about a third of them on the first day of life. In all, 2.6 million children died before the end of their first month.
Among those children, more than 80 per cent of all newborn deaths are due to preventable and treatable causes such as premature birth, complications during delivery, and infections like sepsis and pneumonia.
Over the past three decades, the world has seen unprecedented progress in child survival, halving the number of children worldwide who die before their fifth birthday.
But despite these advances, there has been slower progress for newborns. Babies dying in the first month account for 47 per cent of all deaths among children under five in 2018.
UNICEF’s Every Child Alive campaign seeks to deliver affordable, quality health care solutions for every mother and newborn.
“Too many mothers and newborns are not being cared for by a trained and equipped midwife or nurse, and the results are devastating. We can ensure that millions of babies survive their first day and live into this decade and beyond if every one of them is born into a safe pair of hands,” said Fore.
