PHA-Exchange> WHO: Greater Efforts Needed to Reduce Child Deaths

[Claudio]

> WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
> Press Release
> WHO Western Pacific Region Public Information Unit, Email:
PIO_Unit at wpro.who.int
> 15 September 2003
>
> WHO:  Greater Efforts Needed to Reduce Child Deaths
>
> The World Health Organization (WHO) today warned that the
> Millennium Development Goal of reducing by two-thirds the
> "under-five" child mortality rate between 1990 and 2015 will
> not be achieved unless more intense efforts are made to save
> the lives of millions of children that would otherwise be
> lost.
>
> "We need to deviate from business as usual mentality, and
> speak with one voice. Strong political commitment and
> additional resources are needed," said Dr Shigeru Omi, WHO
> Regional Director.  He called for a
> new drive to target financial and human resources for child
> survival, and urgently scale up interventions that focus on
> the major threats to children's health.  "We must put
> children and mothers from poor and marginalized populations
> at the centre of our efforts and reach those in greatest
> need".  Strong international partnerships are
> needed to halt the widening gap in childhood mortality among
> countries and areas* in the Region.
>
>  From the mid-1950s to the mid-1990s, global childhood
> mortality dropped from 210 per 1000 live births to 78.  In
> the Western Pacific Region, the decrease was even more
> significant, with under-five mortality declining by almost
> 70% during the same period.  However, over the past decade,
> there have been no significant improvements, with childhood
> mortality no longer decreasing in many countries, and even
> increasing in some. Currently, more than one million
> children die each year in the Region before reaching the age
> of five.  "This means approximately 3000 deaths every single
> day," Dr Omi noted.
>
> IMCI, an evidence-based tool for child survival, focuses on
> the most common causes of childhood deaths, such as
> pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles, malaria, dengue hemorrhagic
> fever and malnutrition.  To date, IMCI has been introduced
> in 12 countries in the Region, and in more than 100
> countries world-wide.
>
> Most childhood illnesses are preventable and treatable".   "Relatively
simple interventions are
> effective, and many childhood deaths could be averted
> without investing in new technologies or clinical research.
> By focusing on proven and effective interventions, more than
> 60% of child deaths could be prevented."
>