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'Aids still main child-killer'
13/02/2008 19:10 - (SA)
Maputo - Poor nutritional status of children as well as HIV/Aids remain the main underlying causes of child mortality in Mozambique, a new report has revealed.
Unicef's 2007 Consolidated Donor report for Mozambique released this month noted that more than half of Mozambican children continued to live below the poverty line.
"Therefore, renewed effort is needed to accelerate progress, particularly in disadvantaged areas of the country," said the report.
However, the report noted that maternal mortality ratio had decreased significantly over the last ten years to 408 per 100 000 live births.
"If this trend continues, the country is on track to achieve the MDG [United Nations Millennium Development Goals] target on maternal mortality," said the report.
Mortality rates
The UN agency noted that recent estimates, based on projections from 2003 data, showed that the under-five mortality rate was estimated at 140 per 1 000 live births, representing a significant decline since 1990, when the rate was 235 per 1 000 live births.
"The leading causes of child mortality are preventable and treatable diseases such as malaria, respiratory illnesses, diarrhoea and vaccine-preventable diseases," said the Unicef report.
Despite concerted efforts by the Government to halt the spread of the Aids epidemic, Aids was becoming the greatest development challenge for the country, threatening the gains made and creating an orphan crisis.
In Mozambique on Wednesday, it is estimated that over 1.7 million people are living with HIV/Aids and the HIV prevalence rate is officially pegged at 16% among the 15-49 years old population.
Unlikely to meet targets
"Mozambique is considered unlikely to meet the MDG target related to HIV/Aids. The epidemic seems to have reached a plateau in the central region, while it continues to increase in the southern region and remains stable in the northern region," said the report.
Unicef estimates that approximately 100 000 children under the age of 15 are living with HIV/Aids and the disease is thought to be the underlying cause of 17% of deaths among children under five.
Social services are affected by increasing illness and vulnerability among both users and service providers.
Mozambique has a shortage of trained personnel, and the situation is likely to be exacerbated by the loss of skilled staff to the epidemic.
Unicef noted that while access to safe water and sanitation had improved, its availability remained a major concern.
The most recent data available indicate that only 36% of the population has access to safe drinking water.
While Mozambique had experienced a recent increase in school enrolment rates in both primary and secondary schools, the quality of education also continued to be of concern, said the report.
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