Treatable ailments slay nearly 10 million children annually

Annually, an estimated 9.7 million children worldwide under the age of 5 die from preventable or curable health problems, a report released by the U.S.-based charity Save the Children states.

Mostly spreading in the developing nations, poor children are twice as likely to die as rich children from these common health problems like pneumonia and diarrhea, according to Save the Children's global report.

The charity, Save the Children ranked 146 countries based on well-being for mothers and children. While, Sweden, Norway and Iceland topped the ranking in terms of well-being for mothers and children, Nigeria stood last, where four out of five mothers are likely to experience the death of a child.

An alarming number of countries were failing in providing the most basic health services that were required to save lives. Nearly 30 percent of the mothers and children in developing countries did not receive basic health interventions, such as prenatal care, skilled assistance during birth, immunizations and treatment for pneumonia and diarrhea, the report notes.

Also seen were wide disparities in health care between the poorest and richest children even in the top-ranked countries.

In the Philippines and Peru (the top 2 countries among 55 developing countries surveyed for the first time), the poorest children are 3.2 times more likely to go without essential health care and succumb to infections than their richest counterparts. The poorest Peruvian children are 7.4 times more likely to die than their richest counterparts.

More than six million of the 9.7 million children's deaths each year could be prevented using existing, low-cost tools and knowledge including antibiotics to treat pneumonia and oral rehydration therapy (ORS) - a simple solution of salt, sugar and potassium - for diarrhea, Save the Children said.