Havana, JAN 3 (AIN) Cuba has an infant mortality rate of 5.8 per thousand live births, the lowest ever in its history and one of the best in the world.

Granma newspaper reported on Monday that this achievement is an example of the island's commitment to human rights, where health care and especially mothers and children are the priority. The good news comes despite Washington's nearly half century blockade against the island.

At the same time, according to the '2005 State of the World's Children', published by UNICEF, the United States finished 2004 with an infant mortality rate of 7.

This specialized report states that Cuba is among the 36 countries with the lowest infant mortality rate in the world. Countries that are under 4 per thousand live births are Denmark, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Singapore, Japan and Sweden.

Infant mortality rates, which include deaths in infants under 12 months, is a mechanism to evaluate the socio-economic differences between different countries and different geographical areas within the same nation.

Cuba is an example of a balanced social system with similar infant mortality rates registered in all 14 provinces of the island and the Isle of Youth, while Sancti Spiritus achieved its lowest ever with 3.3.

The number of births during 2004 went down to 127,062, a reduction of 7 percent compared to 2003 and a total of 735 deaths were registered as a consequence of prenatal illnesses and congenital malformations.

The care and protection of mother and child in Cuba is internationally acclaimed and constitutes a honor for the Cuban Revolution on its 46th anniversary.