“In 1979, the year that Bangladesh launched its national immunisation programme, 211 out of every 1,000 children born within its borders were expected to die before their fifth birthday.

The country was young – just eight years had passed since the liberation war of 1971 – densely populated, and extremely poor… Disease rates were high, doctors and nurses were in staggeringly short supply, and the average person could expect to live just 47 years…

Not half a century later … child born in Bangladesh today can expect a far longer, safer life. The country’s under-five mortality rate now stands at 31 per 1,000 live births. Life expectancy has risen to 73.7 years – higher than both India’s and Pakistan’s.”

From Gavi.