Assembly/AU/ 6 (X)I Page 4 Table 1: Trend assessment based on Under-five mortality Rate, 2006 Target achieved or trend towards achievement Algeria Cape Verde Eritrea Mauritius Seychelles Progress but insufficient trend to reach the target Benin , Côte d'Ivoire Gambia , Ghana Guinea, Guinea Bissau Mauritania, Niger Senegal, Togo Comoros, Ethiopia Lesotho, Madagascar Malawi, Mozambique Namibia, Nigeria Tanzania, Uganda Zimbabwe No progress decline or Data incomplete or not available Burkina Faso, Liberia Mali, Sierra Leone Angola, Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Chad, Congo, DRC Equatorial Guinea Kenya, Gabon, Rwanda Sao Tome & Principe Botswana, South Africa Swaziland, Zambia Figure 1: Under five mortality rate / 1000 live births Challenge in achieving MDG 4: Sub-Saharan Africa 200 U5 Mortality Rate/1000 LB 185 175 166 167 150 AARR = 0.3 AARR = 0.3 125 AARR = 8.2 100 75 60 AARR: Annual Average Reduction Rate 50 25 2002 0 Source: HDR 2003, Unicef 2007 1990 2000 2010 2015 Although some progress has been made in child mortality reduction, in recent years it has slowed as seen on the figure above. In 2005, U5MR was estimated at 165 per 1000 live births. To achieve MDG 4, an 8.2% average annual reduction rate (AARR) of under-five mortality is needed in the African Region.