Maternal and child mortality rates improving in Zambia

Published on 18 June 2008 at 13:37

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The number of pregnant women in Zambia dying from pregnancy related causes has reduced from 729 to 449 per 100,000 live births, the latest Zambia Demographic and Health Survey reveals.

A notable decrease in the number of children dying in the country was also observed, with the infant mortality rate improving from 95 per 1000 live births to 70 per 1,000 live births and the under 5 mortality rate improving from 168 to 119 per 1000 live births.

Also notable in the study is the improvement in the protection against malaria in the general population and amongst pregnant women.

The percentage of women who were pregnant five years prior to the survey and took anti-malaria drug during the pregnancy increased from 35.8 percent in 2001 to 86.5 percent in 2007.

The percentage of children aged 0 to 59 months who slept under an insecticide-treated bed net on the night before the survey increased from 9.8 percent in 2001 to 28.6 percent in 2007.

“With concerted efforts we are aware and convinced that it is only a matter of time before Zambia achieves its vision of becoming a healthy and prosperous nation,” Minister of Health Brian Chituwo said when he released the survey. Panapress .

Health file The lack of education and political will, poverty, out-moded traditional beliefs, to mention but a few, have been widely blamed for causing severe and sometimes unwarranted health catastrophies of genocidal proportions on the African continent. Child killer diseases, malaria, tuberculosis, water borne diseases, HIV/AIDS, among other preventable ailments have killed millions in their wake. As rightly said by the former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, on May 13, 2000 "More people (...) died of Aids in the past year (1999-2000, ndlr) in Africa than in all the wars on the continent".