Here's how much more likely newborns are to die in poorer countries than in developed nations

UNICEF says the world is failing newborn babies.

It is reporting that infant mortality around the world remains alarmingly high, especially in poorer countries.

UNICEF Ireland's Aedín Donnelly says you are 50 times more likely to die if you are born in poverty.

She said: "Babies in the best places to be born around the world are up to 50 times less likely to die in the first month of life.

"It is showing that, for example in Ireland, you are immediately advantaged as compared to children who are born elsewhere."

Globally, in low-income countries, the average newborn mortality rate is 27 deaths per 1,000 births, the report says. In high-income countries, that rate is three deaths per 1,000.

Babies born in Japan, Iceland and Singapore have the best chance at survival, while newborns in Pakistan, the Central African Republic and Afghanistan face the worst odds.

Henrietta H. Fore, UNICEF’s Executive Director, said: “While we have more than halved the number of deaths among children under the age of five in the last quarter century, we have not made similar progress in ending deaths among children less than one month old.

“Given that the majority of these deaths are preventable, clearly, we are failing the world’s poorest babies.”

UNICEF is launching Every Child ALIVE, a global campaign to demand and deliver solutions on behalf of the world’s newborns.

Through the campaign, UNICEF is issuing an urgent appeal to governments, health care providers, donors, the private sector, families and businesses to keep every child alive.

• Recruiting, training, retaining and managing sufficient numbers of doctors, nurses and midwives with expertise in maternal and newborn care;
• Guaranteeing clean, functional health facilities equipped with water, soap and electricity, within the reach of every mother and baby;
• Making it a priority to provide every mother and baby with the life-saving drugs and equipment needed for a healthy start in life;
• Empowering adolescent girls, mothers and families to demand and receive quality care.