7.6m children die by age five

THE number of children who die before they reach the age of five is shrinking, falling to 7.6 million global deaths in 2010 from more than 12 million in 1990, Unicef and the World Health Organisation revealed.

Overall, 12,000 fewer children under five die each day than a decade ago, the groups said in their annual report on child mortality.

Even in sub-Saharan Africa, the rate of improvement has more than doubled in the past decade.