HIV and AIDS, drought and conflict make it hard for developing countries to feed their children properly. Ultimately, this pushes up the mortality rate of children under five. This is according to the United Nations Children's Fund's annual report on children's progress. The UNICEF research surveyed more than 100 developing countries, 17 of which are in eastern and southern Africa. The report says virtually no progress was made in these African countries to address the problem of hunger, a major cause of the incidence of under-weight children.