Child mortality rate nearly halved in Niger since 1998, analysis shows

"Niger has nearly halved the death rate of children below five years old since 1998, a significant drop highlighting the benefits of free universal health care for children and pregnant women as well as increased donor funding for health," according to a analysis published in the Lancet, IRIN reports. "The mortality rate reduced from 226 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1998 to 128 deaths in 2009, an annual rate of decline of 5.1 percent, said the study, noting that the slump bettered the fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to cut the child mortality rate by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015," as well as neighboring countries' achievements, the news service notes. "Provision of insecticide-treated bednets, improved nutrition, giving vitamin A supplements, treatment of diarrhea, fevers, malaria, childhood pneumonia, and vaccinations also boosted child survival, the study found," IRIN writes. Agbessi Amouzou, a co-author of the study, said, "The research demonstrates the success of the strategy implemented by the government and its partners, an important step toward the well-being of the Niger population," according to the news service.

"However, [UNICEF] said in a recent statement that Niger had the greatest number of malnourished children in the Sahel region in 2012 and high levels of food insecurity," according to IRIN (9/20). In addition, the charity organization Oxfam on Thursday said half a million people have been displaced in Niger because of the worst flooding in 80 years, the Associated Press reports, adding that the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) "estimates that more than 80 people were killed in the floods" (9/20).


    http://www.kaiserhealthnews.orgThis article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Comments

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.

You might also like...
Breast cancer mortality plummets by 44%, but alarming racial gaps persist