If it's shameful that we have bloated corpses on New Orleans streets, it's even more disgraceful that the infant mortality rate in America's capital is twice as high as in China's capital. That's right - the number of babies who died before their first birthdays amounted to 11.5 per thousand live births in 2002 in Washington, compared with 4.6 in Beijing.
...
The national infant mortality rate has risen under Mr. Bush for the first time since 1958. The U.S. ranks 43rd in the world in infant mortality, according to the C.I.A.'s World Factbook; if we could reach the level of Singapore, ranked No. 1, we would save 18,900 children's lives each year.
Taken from the New York Times: The Larger Shame
4 comments:
The ST picked up on that article in Review the day after you posted that. Way to beat the local press. (I know, not saying much)
This is not new, but was reported in the ST several months ago, when the ranking was first published. It's a well known index (well, at least within certain circles)
Infant mortality rate?
I didn't really think it'd be a factor that goes unheard of - it's one of the things people always include nation statistics.
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