A total of 15 children in Bulgaria die before the age of five, Bulgarian pediatric association head Evgenii Genev said.

Genev took part in a round table discussion on the prospects of child healthcare in Bulgaria, Bulgarian National Radio reported.

The figures for Greece are seven per 1000 children.

Diseases and social-economic reasons feature among the main reasons for the high death-rate among children in Bulgaria, Genev said.

Child death-rate in Bulgaria was 9.7 per cent in 2006. This is the first decrease under 10 per 1000, Genev said.

The average child death-rate in Europe is five per 1000.

Genev said that schools need children medics to be employed permanently there.