ZIMBABWE: DIARRHOEA, PNEUMONIA AMONG MAJOR CHILD KILLERS

By Moyiga Nduru Reprint | | Print |

MOYIGA NDURU

HARARE, Jul 7 1995 (IPS) - ZIMBABWE’S INFANTS ARE FALLING VICTIM TO DIARRHOEA AND PNEUMONIA AT A RATE HEALTH OFFICIALS FIND DISTRESSING.

“WE ARE TROUBLED ABOUT THE INCREASE IN THE MORTALITY RATE,” SAYS LAUCHLAN T. MUNRO, PLANNING AND MONITORING OFFICER HERE OF THE U.N. CHILDREN’S FUND (UNICEF).

FIFTY-EIGHT OUT OF EVERY THOUSAND CHILDREN DIE BEFORE THEIR FIRST BIRTHDAY IN ZIMBABWE. FOR CHILDREN UNDER FIVE YEARS, THE RATE IS 83 DEATHS PER 1,000.

DIARRHOEA, ASSOCIATED WITH A POOR LIVING ENVIRONMENT AND CONTAMINATED WATER, IS THE CAUSE OF AN ESTIMATED 15 PERCENT OF THE DEATHS ANNUALLY OF CHILDREN UNDER FIVE YEARS. SOME 48 PERCENT OF THE RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN THE COUNTRY HAVE ACCESS TO IMPROVED LATRINES, AND 64 PERCENT CAN USE A PROTECTED WATER SOURCE.

THE INFANT MORTALITY RATE PRIOR TO 1980S LEVELS STOOD BETWEEN 120 AND 150 DEATHS PER 1,000 LIVE BIRTHS. BY 1990, THE RATE FOR CHILDREN UNDER ONE YEAR HAD SETTLED AT 61 PER 1,000, WHILE THAT AMONG CHILDREN UNDER FIVE HAD DECLINED TO 22 PER 1,000.

“THE MORTALITY RATE BEGAN RISING IN 1988 AFTER ALL INDICES HAD BEEN EXHIBITING A DOWNWARD TREND FOR MOST OF THE EARLY 1980S,” MUNROE SAYS.

THE CURRENT FIGURES FALL SHORT OF THE 1974 WORLD PLAN OF ACTION RECOMMENDATION THAT THE INFANT MORTALITY RATE SHOULD BE BROUGHT DOWN TO AT LEAST 50 PER 1,000 LIVE BIRTHS.

PNEUMONIA AND OTHER ACUTE RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS CLAIM THE LIVES OF AN ESTIMATED 3,063 CHILDREN EACH YEAR IN ZIMBABWE. HEALTH EXPERTS SAY MOST OF THESE DEATHS COULD BE PREVENTED SIMPLY THROUGH EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND LOW-COST TREATMENT, AND THROUGH IMMUNISATION PROGRAMMES.

“IN THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD, PNEUMONIA IS A RELATIVELY RARE CHILDHOOD RESPIRATORY ILLNESS. BUT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, WHERE MALNUTRITION AND LOW BIRTH WEIGHT ARE PREVALENT, LARGE NUMBERS OF CHILDREN UNDER FIVE DEVELOP PNEUMONIA AND DIE FROM IT,” SAYS A UNICEF REPORT, ‘CHILDREN AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE 1990S’.

THE REPORT SAYS “CHILDREN IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ARE UP TO 20 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO DIE FROM PNEUMONIA THAN ARE CHILDREN IN THE INDUSTRIALISED WORLD”.

AIDS IS ANOTHER LEADING CONTRIBUTOR TO THE CURRENT INFANT MORTALITY RATE, ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL AIDS COORDINATION PROGRAMME (NACP) OF ZIMBABWE. THE PREVALENCE OF THE AIDS-RELATED HUMANIMMUNO DEFICIENCY VIRUS (HIV) AMONG WOMEN ATTENDING ANTE- NATAL CLINICS RANGES FROM EIGHT TO 46 PERCENT.