Nairobi, (IINA) : A UN report released Monday shows that the situation of children in Somalia is improving but much more remains to be done, Anadolu Agency reported.

The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) report titled, “The Situation Analysis of Children in Somalia 2016”, says that more children are surviving and have access to healthcare, water, and food in the Somalia environment than in previous years. However, aside from the decline in infant and maternal mortality, the report notes that persistent problems are far from over, as much has yet to be accomplished. “Over 300,000 children under the age of five are acutely malnourished, and the under-five mortality rate is among the highest in the world”, said UNICEF Somalia Representative Steven Lauwerier.

He added that one out of every seven Somali children dies before their fifth birthday, and 1 out of every 12 women die while giving birth, and fewer than half of Somali children are estimated to have been vaccinated against measles.

Female genital mutilation is also said to stand at 98 percent, the highest rate in the world. Speaking at the report’s launch, Zahra Samatar, Somalia’s minister of women and human rights development, said the report shows that young girls are the most threatened. “The future of most girls in Somalia can be described as very bleak. Our laws may give them rights and guarantee equality to a certain point, but in practice, we all know that their rights are often violated, whether incidental or systematic”, she said.

Somalia is still in the process of emerging from a period of war that has lasted since the 1980s.