India recorded the highest number of babies born globally on New Year’s day, according to data released by the UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) on Wednesday. As per UNICEF, out of the estimated 392,078 babies born around the world, 67,385 were born in India on January 1. India was followed by China (46,299), Nigeria (26,039), Pakistan (16,787), Indonesia (13,020) and the United States of America (10,452) among others. Indian babies accounted for 17 per cent of the estimated 3,92,078 babies that were born globally on New Year’s Day. A report by the UNICEF had earlier said that Fiji in the Pacific will most likely deliver 2020’s first baby, and the US, its last. Each January, UNICEF celebrates babies born on New Year’s Day, an auspicious day for child birth around the world. Babies born today share their birthday with global icons like, famous physicist Satyendra Nath Bose born on 1st January 1894, or well-known Bollywood actor, Vidya Balan born on 1st January 1979. However, for millions of newborns around the world, the day of their birth is far less auspicious. In 2018, 2.5 million newborns died in just their first month of life; about a third of them on the first day of life. Among those children, most died from preventable causes such as premature birth, complications during delivery, and infections like sepsis. In addition, more than 2.5 million babies are born dead each year. Over the past three decades, the world has seen remarkable progress in child survival, cutting the number of children worldwide who die before their fifth birthday by more than half. But there has been slower progress for newborns. Babies dying in the first month accounted for 47 per cent of all deaths among children under five in 2018, up from 40 per cent in 1990. “The beginning of a new year and a new decade is an opportunity to reflect on our hopes and aspirations not only for our future, but the future of those who will come after us,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. “As the calendar flips each January, we are reminded of all the possibilities and potential of each child embarking on her or his life’s journey — if they are just given that chance.”
