50% The proportion of under-five deaths caused due to undernutrition
Millennium
Development Goal 4 : Reduce child mortality
Target : Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate
Many conditions and diseases interact to increase child mortality beyond their individual impacts, with undernutrition contributing up to 50 per cent of child deaths. Unsafe water, poor hygiene practices and inadequate sanitation are not only the causes of the continued high incidence of diarrhoeal diseases, they are a significant contributing factor in under-five mortality caused by pneumonia, neonatal disorders and undernutrition.
Source:UNICEF, The State of the Worlds Children Report 2008, New York, December 2007.