The AP reports on a Johns Hopkins study of Afghani children, indicating that early childhood mortality has dropped dramatically.

"Close to 90,000 children who would  have died before age 5 in Afghanistan during Taliban rule will stay alive this year because of  advances in medical care in the  country, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Sunday.

"The under-5 child mortality rate in Afghanistan has declined from an estimated 257 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2001 to about 191 per 1,000 in 2006, the Ministry of Public Health said, relying on a new study by Johns Hopkins University.

"The U.N. and aid agency Save the Children both hailed the advances in health care in Afghanistan."