First, the good news -- fewer babies are dying each year, according to UNICEF. The global infant mortality stats are at all time lows. Woot! Go pre-natal care and other post-birth interventions!

And, now, the bad news -- 26,000 infants die each day, most of them from completely preventable illnesses like pneumonia, malaria and diarrhea. That all time low figure is still 9.7 million babies annually. From the Reuters' article:

"It is still completely and totally unacceptable that nearly 10 million children die every year of largely preventable causes," UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman said, noting that many infants also lose their mothers in childbirth.

What is infuriating is how easy some of these fixes are. Insecticide impregnated mosquito nets and Plumpynut, which is an inexpensive nutrient-rich food for starving kids, could dramatically reduce deaths, if relief organizations can afford to buy them. 

The problem of infant (and maternal, naturally) mortality isn't just a problem in, you know, those poor countries where there is barely adequate clean water much less medical care. It is an issue in the U.S. as well. 

Still, the numbers are improving. So, um, yippee.