News release: “Deaths of children aged under five years have dropped by 27% globally since 1990, according to the latest WHO estimates. But in WHO’s first progress report on the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) released today in the World Health Statistics 2009, other results are mixed. An estimated 9 million children aged under five years died in 2007, significantly fewer than the 12.5 million estimated to have died in 1990, the baseline year against which progress towards the goals is measured. However, in many African countries and in low-income countries generally, progress has been insufficient to reach the MDG target, that aims for a two thirds reduction in child mortality by the year 2015.”

• World Health Statistics 2009
• Millennium Development Goals
• Fact sheet: progress on health-realted MDGs