Does the United Nations spin up facts and dazzle the media with unverified numbers and studies? You bet, according to public health information.

Well, maybe not exactly. But, when UNICEF announced last week that child deaths had decreased to a record low of 9.7 million worldwide in 2005, another study indicated that a decrease in child mortality had actually slowed down. How can two different conclusions come out of the same thing here?

This is nothing new, as every agency charged with promoting disease prevention and medical success has probably fudged things to attract donations from time to time. As they say, there are liars, damn liars and statistics.