The child's promotion week is on the theme, 'Essential Service For A Healthy Child' with the slogan, 'Make Every Child Count'.

In line with the programme, there will be free medication of childhood diseases at various childcare points on the 5th May 2005.

At a press briefing, the Director of Public Health, Dr. George Amofah, said research proved that over 10.6 million children below the age of five years worldwide die every year from preventable diseases.

These children, according to him, die from diseases like malaria, acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea, measles, polio and malnutrition.

Many of children dying from preventable disease are in the developing countries, he added.

He noted that in Ghana, the rise of childhood mortality and morbidity rate has become a major challenge to the nation in the delivery of quality health care. At least, one in every nine children die before reaching the age of five every month.

The Ghana Demography and Health Survey of 2003 indicated low improvement in the infant mortality rate for the past ten years.

The infant mortality rate has increased from 57/1000 live birth in 1998 to 64/100 live birth in 2003, whereas the under -five mortality rate has increased from 108/1000 live birth to 111/1000 He noted that increase of mortality rates in the past ten years has become a major challenge to national development as Ghana strives to meet its developmental goal.

He therefore urged the general public to help give children a quality health care.