NEW YORK, 10 September 2009 There are fewer children than ever dying before they reach their fifth birthday, according to new figures released today by UNICEF.

In 2008, an estimated 8.8 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday. Thats down from 12.5 million in 1990, according to data from a range of United Nations sources, including UNICEF, the World Bank and the World Health Organization.

Two years ago, UNICEF announced that the absolute number of child deaths had fallen below 10 mil