In response to classmate Mansoor’s post, what is being done in that country to improve infant and child mortality rates. Describe 1 intervention that is being implemented and any cultural considerations for the intervention. 1/2 -1 page AMA format
Classmate Mansoor
Infant and Child Mortality Rates - Pakistan
Top of Form
My ancestry can be traced back to South Asia, in specific to the country of Pakistan, which has one of the worst infant and child mortality rates in the world.1 In fact, according to a recent United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) report, Pakistan is ranked the worst nation when it comes to neonatal mortality rate (NMR), with almost 46 newborn deaths per 1,000 live births.1 If looking specifically at child mortality rate which is under five years of age, it is almost 81 deaths per 1,000 live births.2 When comparing these rates to that of Iceland which has one of the lowest infant mortality rate at approximately 2 deaths per 1,000 live births, they are awful and clearly a lot of work is needed to ensure the infant and child mortality rates are decreased in Pakistan.3
In looking at the factors which contribute to such high infant and child mortality rates in Pakistan, there are several which include: poor sanitation, untreated infections, limited or no access to care, large number of children under five years old with diarrhea not receiving oral rehydration salts, lack of insecticide-treated nets, low immunization rate, various maternal health issues which effect care for the child, and low health literacy rate.2 If we focus just on the poor sanitation issue, it is critical to improve conditions not just at the hospitals, but at homes for these families who have children living with them. Improved sanitation leads to reduction in illness and deaths, and people living in rural communities of Pakistan need to be made aware of how for example, open defecation leads to major health problems not just for adults but for children as well. The trend in child mortality rate in Pakistan is in the right direction, where the number of deaths are decreasing every year, but still the rate is very high when compared to more developed countries like Iceland or Finland.2,4
References:
1. Kazeem Y. Eight of the ten worst places for newborn deaths are in Africa. Quartz. https://qz.com/1211158/unicef-pakistan-african-nations-have-worst-newborn-mortality-rate/. Published February 20, 2018. Accessed May 31, 2018.
2. PAK. UNICEF DATA. https://data.unicef.org/country/pak/. Accessed May 31, 2018.
3. ISL. UNICEF DATA. https://data.unicef.org/country/isl/. Accessed May 31, 2018.
4. FIN. UNICEF DATA. https://data.unicef.org/country/fin/. Accessed May 31, 2018.
Bottom of Form
Paris555
wk5.docx
0
