Child deaths too high - Manto

2008-04-13 21:05

Johannesburg - It is a great concern that some African countries have not been able to decrease child mortality, said Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang on Sunday.

She was speaking at an African countries workshop to institutionalise child-mortality reviews in Johannesburg.

"It is of great concern that in some of our African countries, the maternal, newborn and child mortality [rates] have not decreased significantly."

The minister said the impact of other health determinants like poverty, underdevelopment, lack of housing, water and sanitation continued to undermine the health of Africans.

She said the review of the causes of infant deaths was the best way to identify weaknesses and gaps in government systems throughout Africa.

Last year, the Eastern Cape-based newspaper Daily Dispatch exposed the seriousness of child mortality at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital.

Must improve the data

The Department of Health dismissed the exposé and said baby deaths at the hospital were not an emergency.

Tshabalala-Msimang said the meeting provided an opportunity to develop mortality assessment tools that were critical of the continent's primary-health care.

"It is important that we improve the collection and management of data as part of our effort to monitor the performance of the health system.

"Maternal and infant mortality are the litmus test that often indicates the levels of development of a country," she said.

She said recommendations were being made in South Africa to address challenges of infant mortality.

"This has enabled us to develop specific interventions to improve the quality of care for pregnant mothers at all the levels of care."

Tshabalala-Msimang also said challenges posed by high food prices needed to be highlighted as they undermined the health status of populations throughout the continent.

- SAPA