Unicef: RP among 60 countries monitored for child mortality

MANILA, Philippines – The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) yesterday said the Philippines is one of 60 countries that it has been closely monitoring for having the highest incidence of child mortality.

Outgoing Unicef Country Representative Dr. Nicholas Alipui said the monitoring system is part of their “Countdown to 2015” initiative, referring to the year that the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are targeted to be achieved.

The MDG has eight goals and the fourth goal pertains to reducing by two thirds the “under-five” mortality rate between 1990 and 2015.

Alipui presented yesterday the Unicef’s “State of the World’s Children 2008” report which revealed that worldwide, some 27,000 children under the age of five die each day, mostly because of preventable causes like diarrhea and pneumonia.

According to Alipui, the 60 countries have more than 50,000 recorded deaths of under-five children and an annual under-five mortality rate of at least 90 per 1,000 live births in 2005 when the countdown began.

These countries have accounted for 93 percent of all the deaths of children aged five and below.

But Alipui clarified that the Philippines – along with Bangladesh, Mexico, Nepal, Brazil, Egypt and Indonesia – is still on track to meet MDG 4.

The report cited the “valuable role” played by barangay health workers in the Philippines, saying they have become a “significant force behind improved child survival.”

Alipui, however, warned that such progress “is threatened by the still high number of maternal and newborn deaths.”

Unicef estimates that everyday, 10 Filipino mothers die while giving birth while seven of 10 children do not reach their fifth birthday.

For the government’s part, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III assured that maternal and child health is on top of the state’s agenda.

Duque said efforts have long been underway to save children from malnutrition and preventable diseases like diarrhea and pneumonia that are among the top 10 causes of children’s death.

“The gravest threats to their lives are neglect, poverty, disease and malnutrition,” he said. He added that in December 2007, President Arroyo had declared that proper infant and young child feeding must be a key component of the broader Accelerated Hunger Mitigation Program of the government.

Duque said this is on top of existing programs on breastfeeding, nutrition and poverty alleviation.