United Nations Children’s Funds (UNICEF) said Malawi reduced its under-five mortality by 29 per cent by 2007 because it has put a number of things on a right course.
UNICEF country representative for Malawi Ms. Aida Girma said she believes that if Malawi’s current progress is sustained and intensified, ‘Malawi is set to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.’
She said the 2006 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) showed a decline in the mortality of children under the age of five from 189 to 118 per 1000 live births between 2000 and 2006.
Infant Mortality declined from 104 to 69 per 1000 live births during the same period.
Girma said Malawi achieved routine immunization coverage of over 86 percent, leading to a significant reduction of vaccine preventable diseases.
“Polio, measles and neonatal tetanus have been virtually eliminated. No confirmed case of polio has been reported since 1992,” she said.
There are several reasons that have helped Malawi achieve this feat.
Over 3.5 million insecticide-treated nets (ITN) have been distributed resulting in 50 percent of households owning at least one Insecticide Treated Net.
Health Minister Marjorie Ngaunje said this has helped reduce incidences of malaria in the country.
“We will make sure that this continues,” she said saying her ministry is highly encouraged by the decrease in the death of the under-fives.
In nutrition, Malawi has maintained over 90 percent coverage for vitamin A supplementation in children under the age of one.
The coverage of exclusive breastfeeding up to six months of age increased from 3% in 1992 to 56% in 2006.
Girma said another factor which is believed to have contributed to the rapid decline in the child mortality rates is the increased access to safe water.
According to the 2006 Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, 74% of the population has access to safe water.
The UNICEF representative said Malawi is not alone as many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have made a significant progress.
In Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda and Tanzania child mortality rates have declined by more than 20 per cent.
Madagascar has cut its rate by 41 per cent, while Sao Tome and Principe has seen its rate fall by 48 per cent.
Of the 9.7 million children who perish each year, 3.1 million are from South Asia, and 4.8 million are from Sub-Saharan Africa.
A statement from UNICEF says in southern Africa hard-won gains in child survival have been undermined by the spread of HIV and AIDS.
“The new figures show solid progress on child survival, including a decline,” it says.
Global child deaths have reached a record low, falling below 10 million per year to 9.7 million, down from almost 13 million in 1990.
“This is a historic moment,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman in a statement released on September 13, 2007.
“More children are surviving today than ever before. Now we must build on this public health success to push for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.”
Among these goals is a commitment to a two-thirds reduction in child mortality between 1990 and 2015, a result which would save an additional 5.4 million children by 2015.
However, Veneman pointed out that there is no room for complacency.
“The loss of 9.7 million young lives each year is unacceptable. Most of these deaths are preventable and, as recent progress shows, the solutions are tried and tested,” she said.
“We know that lives can be saved when children have access to integrated, community-based health services, backed by a strong referral system,” added Veneman.
The new figures are drawn from a range of national data sources, including two sets of household surveys, the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and the Demographic Household Surveys (DHS).
The current round of MICS surveys was conducted in over 50 countries in 2005-06 and, together with the USAID-supported Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) are the largest single source of information of the Millennium Development Goals and form the basis of the assessment of progress in child survival.
Their findings reinforce reports of progress released earlier this year on measles mortality, with a 60 per cent fall in measles deaths since 1999, and a 75 per cent reduction in sub-Saharan Africa.
Rapid declines in under-five mortality have been seen in Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) and East Asia and the Pacific.
A number of countries have made particularly dramatic progress since the previous surveys of 1999-2000, with Morocco, Vietnam and the Dominican Republic reducing their under-five mortality rates by more than one-third.
In the developing world, child mortality is considerably higher among children living in rural areas and in the poorest households.
In developed countries there are just six deaths for every 1,000 live births.
The Latin American and Caribbean region is on track to achieve the child mortality Millennium Development Goal, with 27 deaths on average for every 1,000 live births, compared to 55 per thousand in 1990.
The highest rates of child mortality are still found in West and Central African countries.
Much of the progress is the result of the widespread adoption of basic health interventions, such as early and exclusive breast feeding, measles immunization, Vitamin A supplementation and the use of insecticide-treated bed nets to prevent malaria.
“The new figures show that progress is possible if we act with renewed urgency to scale-up interventions that have proven successful,” said Veneman. “There is a clear need for action on child survival in Africa and beyond.”
In addition, there is unprecedented support for global health, with increased funding and expanding partnerships, including with Governments, the private sector, international foundations and civil society.