Infant mortality rates declining around the globe: UNICEF

The number of children around the world who die before their fifth birthday fell below 10 million in 2006 for the first time in recent history, according to a UN report released Monday.

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) report attributed the progress in children's mortality rate largely to improvements in healthcare.

UNICEF executive director Ann Veneman was quoted by AFP as saying in a statement accompanying the report, however, that "while the data shows considerable progress, much more remains to be done."

The report found that between 1990 and 2004 more than 1.2 billion people gained access to safe drinking water.

Between 1996 and 2000, rates of breastfeeding in developing countries increased markedly, including in seven sub-Saharan African countries which saw a 20 percent increase.