The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has released a report on the condition of the world's children - finding that one in 12 will die before age five while one in four live in abject poverty. 

The report, which comes ahead of a special U.N. conference on children scheduled for next month, says the child mortality rate is mostly the result of readily preventable diseases such as measles, malaria, diarrhea and prenatal conditions. It says that almost one-quarter of the world's children live in poverty, which is defined as income lower than one dollar per day. 

The report - released Thursday - says that serious investment in the rights and development of children is essential to overcoming poverty. It says past programs which fund a child's immunization, nutrition, sanitation and education have proven economically beneficial, mainly from future savings on costs such as health care, unemployment and crime. Jamaica's U.N. Ambassador Patricia Durant, a chief organizer of the upcoming conference, says world leaders must make both the financial and political commitment to see that children are given the priority they deserve. 

More than 70 world leaders and 170 nations are expected to participate in the May conference. 

Some information for this report provided by AP. 

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