The number of children under five who die from poverty and hunger in South Africa is too high and experts believe more can be done to save young lives. University of the Western Cape Professor David Sanders says South Africa's "mortality statistics are very poor for a middle-income country".The comments follow the release yesterday of the UN Children's Fund report on global child mortality rates, which reveals that just over 4% of South African children die before they reach their fifth birthday.While this is down from 7.5% in 2000, it is still short of the 2% target that was set by the UN Millennium Development Goals.In South Africa the decrease in deaths is primarily due to preventing mothers transmitting HIV to their children, said Wits professor Kathleen Kahn.However, although there was an improvement, UCT children's institute director Shenaaz Mathews said: "The number of deaths is still excessive."Data shows us that diarrhoeal disease, pneumonia and injury deaths are some of the top causes of death that should be preventable.""We are going to have to improve the economy and the provision of clean water and sanitation," Kahn said.Sanders said the underlying causes of child deaths were often linked to malnutrition."Globally, undernutrition is indirectly responsible for 50% of all deaths under five. In this country probably 30% of these deaths are an indirect result of malnutrition."Exclusive breastfeeding would improve survival of children, said Sanders, but South Africa has the lowest exclusive breastfeeding rates in the world: only 8% of mothers breastfeed exclusively until the child is six months old."This is because of marketing of formulas and the now outdated message that HIV-positive women should not breastfeed," said Sanders.The Millennium Development Goals have saved more than 48million children globally since their establishment...