Namibia: maternal death rate doubles

Namibia: Maternal Death Rate Shoots Up
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
Namibia is experiencing reversals on child, infant and maternal health despite being one of the leading countries in reporting progress on child survival. Infant and under-five mortality rates have increased, while the number of women who die during pregnancy, delivery or shortly after giving birth has doubled ... The data that the Ministry of Health and Social Services is still analysing indicates that the maternal mortality rate increased from 227 per 100000 live births in 2000 to 449 in 2006. Child mortality rate increased from 62 per 1000 live births to 69 per 1000 live births while the infant mortality rate also went up from 38 per 1000 live births to 46 per 1000 live births. Health and Social Services Minister, Dr Richard Kamwi, yesterday said HIV/Aids was at the core of these shocking statistics. Kamwi was speaking at the launch of the State of the World Children 2008 and the Namibian Supplement to the global report whose theme is 'Child Survival'.UNICEF representative, Khin-Sandi Lwin, said the topic of child survival was important because at its heart lies human development ...