Far fewer children are dying today than in 1960, the earliest year for which the annual number of child deaths is currently available. In fact, over the past 46 years, the annual number of child deaths has halved, from roughly 20 million in 1960 to under 10 million in 2006. Recent years have seen important and, in some cases, remarkable advances in child survival. Despite considerable impediments, most notably the onslaught of AIDS in Eastern and Southern Africa and internecine conflict in many high-mortality countries, the global child mortality rate has been steadily reduced since 1990. In 2006, it was estimated at 72 deaths per 1,000 live births, 23 per cent lower than the 1990 level.