High WV child mortality rate alarms Health dep’t

ILOILO City – The rate of childhood mortality in Western Visayas is high, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

It cited the results of the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). These were the following:

* 31 percent of 1,000 pregnancies of at least seven months duration are stillbirths

* 33 percent of 1,000 live births do not reach their first month of life

* 38 percent die before their first birthday

* 46 percent of children die before reaching their fifth birthday

According to DOH Region 6, these results were higher than the national childhood mortality rate of 22 percent for under-five mortality, 21 percent for infant mortality, and 14 percent for neonatal mortality.

Neonatal mortality refers to children who die before their 28th day while infant mortality refers to those who die before they reach one year old.

The survey results were presented to stakeholders during a regional dissemination forum held at a hotel here recently.

The figure placed Western Visayas among the top three regions in the country with the highest under-five mortality, said DOH-6 director Marlyn Convocar.

“We should not settle for that result. We should do something about that in the region,” she stressed.

Convocar said they reviewed common causes of neonatal, infant and under-five children deaths in the region and these were pneumonia, prematurity and septicemia.

These showed that health practitioners should be on alert each time an under-five child with cough, fever and cold, which could lead to pneumonia, seeks consultation in their health facility, said Convocar.

“We should give extra care and follow-up these children. This is really a wakeup call,” she added.

Convocar said the 46 percent data was a far-cry from the data they gathered where only 13 percent of every 1,000 live births die before reaching five years old.

The discrepancy could be explained such that not all mothers sought consultation in government health facilities when the survey was conducted. Some have private physicians and cases of deaths are not reported to the DOH.

“We should equip our people with training, provide medicine, equipment and appropriate facilities to respond to the needs of patients,” said Convocar.

Since pneumonia, prematurity and septicemia were preventable, parents should not wait for the disease to worsen before bringing their sick children to health facilities, she stressed.

“Services at health centers are free so I am urging parents to bring their sick children for early consultation. Give them nutritious food, and observe proper hygiene. All of these should start in our households,” she said.

SOURCE: Panay News

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