The number of children dying under the age of 5 worldwide fell 27% between 1990 and 2007, as a result, at least in part, of more interventions and strengthening of health systems, a World Health Organization report says.

The report puts progress down to several developments, including increased immunisation coverage, use of rehydration treatment, malaria interventions, and improved water and sanitation. But it says that progress has been “uneven.”

Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, weighed down by civil strife, poverty, and high disease burdens, it says, are lagging behind in progress towards meeting the fourth millennium development goal, which specified that mortality in children under 5 should be reduced by two thirds between 1990 and 2015.

“There needs …