BS RAWAT
NEW DELHI: Over 69,944 babies will be born in India on New Year’s Day, UNICEF said on January 1, 2019, and added that Indian babies will account for 18 per cent of the estimated 395,072 babies to be born on that day.

Sydney will greet an estimated 168 babies, followed by 310 in Tokyo, 605 in Beijing, 166 in Madrid and 317 in New York on New Year's Day.

In the Pacific, Fiji will most likely deliver 2019’s first baby; the United States, its last. Globally, over half of these births are estimated to take place in eight countries including India — 69,944, China — 44,940, Nigeria — 25,685, Pakistan — 15,112, Indonesia — 13,256, the United States of America — 11,086, the Democratic Republic of Congo — 10,053 and Bangladesh — 8,428.

On January 1, families will welcome countless Alexanders and Ayeshas, Zhengs and Zainabs around the world. But in several underdeveloped countries, many babies will not even be named as they won’t make it past their first day.

“This New Year Day, let’s all make a resolution to fulfill every right of every child, starting with the right to survive,” said Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF Representative in India.

“Countries can save millions of babies if they invest in training and equipping local health workers so that every newborn is born into a safe pair of hands,” said Yasmin.