Ethiopia, South Africa Have Africa’s Highest Rate Of Premature Births

Ethiopia, the democratic republic of Congo, South Africa and the Ivory coast have the highest rates of premature births in Africa, according to a new report by UN agencies.

The report released by the World Health Organization, Unicef and the partnership for maternal, newborn and child health (PMNCH) shows that preterm birth is now the leading cause of child deaths globally.

It accounts for more than one in five of all deaths of children occurring before their fifth birthday.

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Of every 10 babies born globally, one is pre-term. And every 40 seconds, one of those babies dies. After every preterm death is a trail of loss and heartbreak.

At least 152 million babies were born too soon from 2010 to 2020.