Malawi has the highest rate in the SADC region of children dying aged between zero and five, a senior health expert has said. Current mortality prevalence situation indicates that between 1 and 2 percent of babies delivered in hospitals die before reaching five years and between 20 and 50 percent die in health centres.Statistics further indicate that 50 to 60 percent of those whose mothers do not seek antenatal services and are borne in communities die under the age of five.
The alarming revelation was made by Timothy Kachule, Clinical Technical Advisor for the Basic Support for institutionalizing Child Survival (BASICS) when he briefed stakeholders in Accelerated Child Survival and Development (ACSD) on the new National ACSD Strategic Plan.
This situation, he said, is feared to be creating a big impediment towards achievement of Millennium Development Goal number Four (4).
Kachule said it was shocking to note that most lives of the under five children are claimed by highly preventable diseases such as malaria, malnutrition, pneumonia, diarrhea and sepsis.
One in every eight children dies before cerebrating their fifth birthday, especially in communities where expectant women do not seek free antenatal services from hospitals and health centres, lamented the technical advisor.
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