[The Conversation Africa] Five million children under five years old died in 2021. Of these, nearly half occurred within the first month - a time of high vulnerability. Sub-Saharan Africa had the highest death rate in the world: 27 in 1,000 newborn babies (1,067,000). This is 11 times higher than in countries with the lowest rates (2 deaths in 1,000), such as Australia and New Zealand.
