Death is inevitable. It is a fact of life. But despite that, death is never really easy to live with.
So when three infant deaths were reported to police this month in the Western Division, there would obviously be concern and interest over attributing factors.
Interestingly, according to the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals 2012 Report, "Considerable progress has been made in reducing under-five mortality since 1990.
"In the developing regions, the mortality rate declined by 35 per cent, from 97 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990 to 63 in 2010," it stated.
"Despite population growth, the number of under-five deaths worldwide fell from more than 12 million in 1990 to 7.6 million in 2010.
"Five of nine developing regions show reductions in under-five mortality of more than 50 per cent from 1990 through 2010.
"Northern Africa already has achieved the MDG 4 target, bringing down the child mortality rate by 67 per cent, and Eastern Asia is close, with a 63 per cent decline.
"Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania have achieved reductions of only around 30 per cent, less than half of what is required to reach the target.
"Southern Asia is also falling behind with a decline in the child mortality rate of 44 per cent between 1990 and 2010 — insufficient to reach the two-third reduction by 2015."
The report, the UN stated, was based on a master set of data that had been compiled by an Inter-Agency and Expert Group on MDG Indicators led by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, in response to the wishes of the General Assembly for periodic assessment of progress towards the MDGs.
The Group comprised representatives of the international organisations whose activities included the preparation of one or more of the series of statistical indicators that were identified as appropriate for monitoring progress towards the MDGs.
The revelation about Oceania will obviously interest people in our region.
Back home, police said three of the deaths this month were of infants.
Other deaths included a three-year-old girl from Lautoka who was unresponsive when her mother tried to wake her up in the morning.
In another case in Rakiraki on May 20 a four-year-old girl died under similar circumstances. She was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.
An 11-year-old girl also died on May 5 after having complained of stomach pains.
Police said her parents did not take her to hospital until her condition got worse. She died the next day.
The onus really is on parents and guardians to do the right thing.
There can be no alternatives for vigilance on their part. It pays to be vigilant. We owe it to our children.