UNICEF's new State of the World's Children 2008 report states that some 400 children die everyday in Burma from preventable diseases
The figures are the second-worst mortality rate for children in Asia except for Afghanistan.Dr Osamu Kunii, a nutrition expert in Burma for the UN, said there were between 100,000 to 150,000 child deaths per year in the country - or between 270 and 400 daily.
He was speaking at a briefing by Unicef of its annual report - The State of the World's Children.
The mortality rate is a critical indicator of the well-being of children.
About 21% of child deaths in Burma are caused by acute respiratory infection, followed by pneumonia, diarrhoea and septicaemia.
A recent report also revealed Burma is now suspected of having the largest amount of child soldiers in the world. Just yesterday four children were sold to an army recruiter.
Myanmar is going "downhill on all fronts,"
"The regime in Burma is absolutely refusing to take any positive steps at all, either in response to its own people or to the international community," said US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Scot Marciel."It should be a cause of concern for everybody because the way Burma is going under this regime and its policies is sort of downhill on all fronts," he told a media briefing during a Hanoi stop on a regional tour.
"We talk about it mostly in terms of human rights and democracy and that's critically important to us, but it's beyond that," he said. "The economy is going downhill, the education system is getting ruined.
"The health care system isn't functioning, ... you're getting more and more cases of resistant strains of tuberculosis and malaria out of Burma. You've got refugee flows out of Burma. It's just a whole series of problems."
