The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

More than half of the Under-5 children die in the neonatal period every year in Bangladesh, although the country achieved a commendable progress in reducing the child mortality during the last one decade.

Talking to BSS, health experts said the Uunder-5 child mortality in the country came down to 65 per one thousand in 2007 from 116 in 1996-97.

"This is undoubtedly an encouraging trend and priority must be given on further checking neonatal death, now more than half, to achieve the Millennium Development Goal(MDG)-4 by 2015," said Dr. Md Ziaul Matin of UNICEF's Health and Nutrition Section.

Among the eight developing countries, Bangladesh is now on the track in achieving MDG-4 and Dr. Matin said the neonatal mortally must be reduced to an appreciable level by overcoming any challenge.

MDG-4 aims at reducing the Under-5 child mortality to 50 per thousand live births by the year 2015. "It is a difficult task but we expect our target will be fulfilled much ahead of 2015," he said stressing the need for all-out efforts to achieve the goal.

A total of 2.77 lakh Under-5 children die in Bangladesh every year, According to Bangladesh Demographic And Health Survey, 2007.

Around 9.7 million Under-5 children die across the world every year while most of the children die in developing countries, a UNICEF report said.

Dr. Mohammad Tajul Islam A Bari, Public Health Specialist of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), said 25 to 30 percent deaths of the Under-5 children could be reduced through implementing the immunization programmes.

"The rest 70 to 75 percent death could be prevented through breast feeding and enforcing other programmes against fatal disease like pneumonia and diarrhea," he said.

Dr. Shumona Shafinaz, Project Officer of UNICEF,said about 50 percent children die due to various infections during the neonatal period while rest of them die of other causes like asphyxia and prematurity.

Besides, she said, almost one-fourth Under-5 children die due to Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) while rest of the children die of diarrhea, malnutrition and drowning.

According to Dr Shumona, these causes are being created due to lack of awareness at family land community levels as well as inadequate number of health providers and poverty at large.

Stressing the need for government and private partnership for resolving these problems, she said no single effort can help reduce the child mortality in Bangladesh.

Referring to malnutrition, the UNICEF health experts said this is a common phenomenon in the poor families and only joint initiatives of both government and private organizations, especially the NGOs, could contribute a lot in this regard.

Dr Mohammad Ziaul Matin said most neonatal deaths are caused in rural areas due to the handling of delivery by the unskilled and inefficient attendants.

"More than 85 percent delivery are being handled by the unskilled attendants in rural areas," he said adding that the neonatal deaths could be prevented through timely awareness and ensuring safe delivery by trained attendants.

To achieve the MDG-4 through implementing comprehensive child health intervention programmes, the government is further gearing up the EPI and National Nutrition Programme (NNP) to contain ARI and encourage breast feeding, school health services, essential new born care and micro-nutrient supplement (vitamin, Iron, iodine).

The government has also been providing training to nurses, health assistants and family welfare assistants to raise the efficiency of birth attendants in handling child delivery skillfully, Dr. Mohamamd Tajul Islam A Bari said.