UNICEF finds reason to question just how healthy privatization of healthcare is: The transition from planned to market economies in many Asian nations was behind much of the problem with free state health services giving way to often costly private clinics, according to the fund. "Poor people are often unable to pay for those services and stop bringing children for treatment until the very last moment," UNICEF Regional Health and Nutrition adviser Dr Steve Atwood told AFP. "Vaccinations are also a major concern." He said where fees have been introduced for treatment, immunisation rates had fallen. High childbirth mortality rates, representing 45 percent of all under-five deaths, and poor sanitation in many nations added to the problem.