Countries hit by war have the highest child mortality rates in the world, according to a report released Tuesday by UNICEF's State of the World's Children.

In 2006, the number of children to die worldwide before their fifth birthday was nearly 9.7 million, said the report, which mainly used data collected from the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the UN Population Division studies.

"The loss of 9.7 million young lives each year is unacceptable, especially when many of these deaths are preventable," said UNICEF executive director Ann Veneman.

Sierra Leone had the highest child-mortality rate with 270 deaths per 1,000 births. Angola was second with 260 deaths, followed by Afghanistan with 257.

The worldwide rate in 2006 was 72 deaths per 1,000 births, much higher than the average in industrialized countries where the rate was six deaths per 1,000 births.

The UN Children's Fund estimates more than 26,000 of the world's children under age five die each day. 

Most of the deaths were from preventable causes such as diarrhea, malaria or malnutrition, that if addressed with basic health-care practices — such as vaccinations, insecticide-treated bed nets and vitamin supplements — could have been avoided, according to UNICEF.

Although the overall under-five mortality rate has hit a record low, down from nearly 13 million in 1990, the report emphasizes the need to speed up progress if the UN's goal of cutting the 1990 rate by two-thirds before 2015 can be met.

More specifically, the current mortality rate must drop by half in order to meet the target, the report said.

Some countries hit hard

The problem of child deaths is most acute in Sierra Leone, Angola and Afghanistan, all war-torn countries where sufficient health services are often unavailable for children to reach age five, said the report.

Sub-Saharan Africa, where the rate has dropped by only 14 per cent since 1990, is home to 28 of the 30 countries with the highest child mortality rates, and is the region of greatest concern, according to the study.

Some regions, such as East Asia and the Pacific, central and eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, have reached a roughly 50 per cent decrease in child mortality since 1990. In those places, the rate has dipped below 30 deaths per 1,000 births, the report said.
 
Some Sub-Saharan African countries have managed to achieve rates far better than the region's troubling average.

Mozambique, for example, has seen a 41 per cent drop in child mortality, largely as a result of government and aid agency training aimed at providing the country's rural population with inexpensive and effective health tips on topics like breast feeding, hydration and mosquito nets.

More to do, UNICEF Canada CEO says

Nigel Fisher, CEO and president of UNICEF Canada, attributes some of the progress made in African and Asian countries to Canada's "pioneering" role in global initiatives, but said there's still more the country can do.

He said Tuesday's report is a call to action and integrated management of childhood services must be implemented on a more global scale.

"We know what to do, it's affordable, but we need really to increase global partnership and investment to really see the benefits in terms of millions more of children's lives affected and saved."

During his African tour last November, Prime Minister Steven Harper pledged $105 million over five years to UNICEF International and the Catalytic Initiative To Save A Million Lives, a $500-million project aimed at providing health-care services for poor mothers and children in Africa and Asia.

Ottawa's pledge will support training of about 40,000 front-line health-care workers.

With files from the Associated Press