TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates there will be 392,078 babies born globally on New Year’s Day with Indonesia contributing to 3.32 percent or 13,020 of these so-called New Year’s babies.

UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore in the organization’s website states; “The beginning of a new year and a new decade is an opportunity to reflect on our hopes and aspirations not only for our future but the future of those who will come after us.”

Fiji in the Pacific will most likely deliver 2020’s first baby with The United States delivering its last.

Globally, over half of these births are estimated to take place in eight countries comprising India (67,385); China (46,299); Nigeria (26,039); Pakistan (16,787); Indonesia (13,020); USA (10,452); the Democratic Republic of Congo (10,247); and Ethiopia (8,493).

However, UNICEF’s website states that millions of newborns around the world, the day of their birth is far less auspicious as in 2018, as many as 2.5 million newborns died in their first month of life. A third of them did not make it on the first day of life.

The causes range from “preventable causes such as premature birth, complications during delivery, and infections like sepsis,” unicef.org states on their website on December 30.

“Too many mothers and newborns are not being cared for by a trained and equipped midwife or nurse, and the results are devastating. We can ensure that millions of babies survive their first day and live into this decade and beyond if every one of them is born into a safe pair of hands,” added Henrietta Fore.

Their website also states that UNICEF’s Every Child Alive campaign calls for immediate investment in health workers with the right training, who are equipped with the right medicines to ensure every mother and newborn is cared for by a safe pair of hands.

ANTARA | UNICEF