Tunis — The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) expressed satisfaction at the considerable decrease of the mortality rate of children aged less than 5 in Tunisia where there were 23 deaths per 1000 births in 2006 against 51 in 1990.

According to the UN organisation which operates in more than 150 countries in the world, infant mortality is an indicator of the development of a country and a revealing factor of its priorities and values.

The improvement witnessed in the Tunisian health sector, was highlighted in the 2008 report of the UN organisation on "The Situation of Children in the World."

In a communiqué, UNICEF writes that thanks to this success, Tunisia could achieve, the Millennium Goal for Development, relative to infant mortality. The Millennium Goals for Development stresses the need to reduce the mortality rate of children aged less than 5, by two thirds in 2015, in comparison with 1990.

The UNICEF report for 2008 was presented on Saturday in Tunis , on the occasion of the National Paediatrics Day.