David Beckham the footballing ambassador begs the world to save the children of Africa

David Beckham today appealed for the world not to turn a blind eye to "shocking" child mortality rates in developing nations as he returned from a visit to a poverty-stricken west African country.

The England midfielder said tens of thousands of young children were dying every day across the world, mostly from preventable conditions.

His remarks followed his visit as United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) goodwill ambassador to Sierra Leone, a country where more than a quarter of children die before their fifth birthday.

"We can't turn a blind eye to the tens of thousands of young children who die every day in the developing world mostly from causes that are preventable," he said.

"In Sierra Leone, one in four children dies before reaching their fifth birthday - it's shocking and tragic especially when the solutions are simple - things like vaccinations against measles or using a mosquito net to reduce the chance of getting malaria.

"Saving these children's lives is a top priority for Unicef and as an ambassador I hope I can help to draw attention to this issue across the world."

The star, who is a father of three, arrived in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, on Friday, before travelling to Makeni, Bombali District, in the northern province of Sierra Leone, which has the highest number of under-five child deaths in the country.

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Beckham at a feeding centre in Makeni. In Sierra Leone one in four children dies from malnutrition or disease before their fifth birthday

During his four-day visit, he spent time at a health clinic learning about the most common causes of these deaths, such as malaria, diarrhoea, malnutrition and vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and TB.

He joined two health workers as they travelled into a local community to vaccinate children unable to attend the clinic.

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Senyo makes it to the football star - and greets him with a flower

At a feeding centre for severely malnourished children he saw babies who had survived on water because their mothers were undernourished and unable to breastfeed.

Unicef figures have shown that more than 26,000 children under the age of five years old die every day around the world, mostly from preventable causes and nearly always in the developing world.

In a Unicef report published today - The State of the World's Children (SOWC) 2008 - figures show that, in Sierra Leone, 27 per cent of children die before reaching their fifth birthday, the highest number in the world.

Ready for action: Beckham strips off his top and looks to get hold of the ball

The organisation said there remained a "long way" to go to achieve the Millennium development goal on child survival which would mean lowering the number of under-five deaths from 9.7 million to less than five million by 2015.

Unicef UK executive director David Bull said: "We are grateful to David Beckham for shining the spotlight on the unacceptable number of young children who are dying often needlessly in Sierra Leone and other developing countries.

"Everyone can play a role in changing this situation governments, donors and the public.

"All children have a right to survival but too many are dying needlessly. But this can be changed if there is sufficient collective will to act with determination and urgency.

"Surely there is no reward more precious than saving the life of a child? Their futures remain in our hands."

George Clooney cut short his first trip as a UN "messenger of peace" and flew home from Darfur after falling ill. The Oscar-winning had been there for two days.

Final whistle: As he walks off the pitch he is mobbed by his new team-mates