Pneumonia still a major cause of child mortality
When eight-month old Hasabullah’s apparently-ordinary cold turned into pneumonia, his mother Mukta could not afford a doctor visit.
Even if she did have money, there was no hospital or recognised doctor nearby. “I felt I could do nothing but cry,” said Mukta.
Pneumonia continues to be a major paediatric health threat in the country, claiming lives of two children -- under the age of five -- on an average every hour, according to the “Global Childhood Report 2019” by Save the Children.
Some 16,960 children, aged under five, died in 2016 due to pneumonia, accounting for 16 percent of all deaths in the age group.
Dr Sabbir Ahmed, pneumonia centenary commitment adviser of the organisation, presented the report at Jatiya Press Club yesterday.
Save the Children prepared the report based on data collected from “recognised and reliable sources” like government’s demographic health survey, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), and different UN agencies.
In last 20 years, although Bangladesh has been ahead of other South Asian countries in overall reduction of child deaths -- an impressive 63 percent, the report says pneumonia is still one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality of children in Bangladesh.
The ranking of Bangladesh in the Global Childhood Report 2019 has also improved, as it moved three notches up to 127 out of 176 countries.
Singapore topped the rankings, with eight Western European countries and South Korea completing the top 10.
Central African Republic ranked last, with Niger -- despite recent progress -- and Chad rounding out the bottom three countries.
The child mortality rate within poverty-hit population is double than that in rich population, the report also said, referring to the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.
Embracing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), economic investment, capacity-building, policy implementation, and decreased discrimination are the reasons why Bangladesh is improving on the ranking, said Dr Ishtiak Mannan, deputy country director of Save the Children in Bangladesh, at the event.
The report also mentioned that global displacement due to conflict is the only one on the rise, with 30.5 million more forcibly displaced people now than there were in 2000, an 80 percent increase.
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