The World - News from Dec. 11, 1987

Seven million children under age 5 who died this year could have been saved through immunization and overall better care, the U.N. Children’s Fund said in its annual report, released in Tokyo because of Japan’s ability to lower its infant mortality rate to one of the lowest in the world--”a miracle in child health,” UNICEF executive director James Grant said. He also said that health care for the world’s children has improved dramatically. Yet “38,000 children are dying every day from largely preventable diseases,” Grant added. The report said 2 million were saved this year through immunization and oral rehydration therapy--a mixture of salt, water and sugar--given to children with diarrhea.