WHO Hails Vietnam for Reducing Infant Death Rate

The World Health Organization (WHO) has hailed Vietnam for its fruitful results in reducing infant death rate over the past 20 years, state media reported, citing WHO official.  Addressing the press conference on immunization in Hanoi Nov 20, Daisy Mafubelu, director assistant of the WHO’s Public and Family Health Program said that the country’s efforts in vaccination programs nationwide have helped reduce the infant death rate. The rate has been falling to 15 out of 1,000 in 2007 from 56 deaths out of 1,000 children in 1990, statistics by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said. Vietnam expects to cut the infant death rate below 10% by 2015 as targeted in the millennium development goals.