Full Coverage: Infant mortality

06.05.2008 Traditional midwives or dais have been overlooked by India’s National Rural Health Mission that focuses solely on institutional delivery. In a country having the highest maternal mortality rate and collapsing rural health care, there is a need to integrate these women in public health programmes.

25.04.2008 Today, on World Malaria Day, 3,000 children will die of malaria. This year, it will kill more than one million people. When faced with such disastrous statistics, it can be easy for us to feel overwhelmed – to see malaria as another problem that is too big and too complex. The reality is different: malaria is 100 per cent preventable. But action must be taken before the mosquito bites.

18.04.2008 Female community health workers are saving young lives in the country by providing key services and interventions to pregnant women and children. While Nepal’s success in reducing child mortality puts it on track to achieve Millennium Development Goal 4, neonatal mortality remains a challenge with over 50% less than one month old babies dying.

14.03.2008 Punjab province in Pakistan has very high mortality rates for newborns, as a very small percentage of births take place under the supervision of trained attendants. UNICEF is now training midwives to prevent such deaths.

12.03.2008 New software by India’s National Informatics Centre (NIC) in Jharkhand offers individual search for pregnant women and newborns at the Anganwadi level. The programme will help the state government track the nutrition status of both mother and child and the immunisation of infants.

29.02.2008 Two studies by the Urban Health Resource Centre talk of maternal and newborn care among the poor in central India and state of urban health in the national capital. Apart from highlighting the need for better access to healthcare facilities, the reports underline the cultural factors and prevalence of poverty as obstacles.

27.02.2008 SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 26 (OneWorld) - Most of California's furniture contains toxic chemicals that have been linked to cancer, birth defects, hormone disruption, and neurological and reproductive dysfunction, according to a report released today.

22.02.2008 With nearly 10 million children dying every year around the world, how does it matter even if GDP growth shoots up? Research reveals that the issue is not about inadequacy of resources among developing countries, but lack of effective policies that can translate economic growth into development outcomes for the poor.

19.02.2008 Child mortality cannot be divorced from broader political and socio-economic development, says a report by Save the Children, a UK-based organisation. The report argues that policy choices and efficient resource allocation are crucial to tackle the issue of child survival in developing countries.

19.02.2008 According to a new Wealth and Survival Index, India is one of the worst performers in cutting child mortality, given its national wealth. The new report by Save the Children UK says even the poorest of countries can attain child survival if they pursue the right policies.

06.02.2008

28.01.2008 India is home to 61 million stunted children – more than half the total number of kids under the age of five and 34% of the world’s young ones. The diminutive growth is attributed to malnutrition during pregnancy and first two years of birth, says The Lancet report, underlining the importance of ‘golden interval of intervention’.

23.01.2008 UNITED NATIONS, Jan 22 (OneWorld) - Tens of thousands of children die each day, many because they have no access to simple medical treatments, say the authors of a new study released here Tuesday.

14.12.2007 A recent UNICEF report signals progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.

30.11.2007

15.11.2007 A new resource, the MDG Monitor, created by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with several other UN bodies with assistance from Google and Cisco, is an excellent tool for policymakers, journalists, students and others to learn about the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

30.10.2007 Female foeticide has reached alarming levels in Asian countries. If China leads in declining sex ratio, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal follow closely. Experts at the on-going Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights warn against this disturbing trend and call for urgent action.

19.10.2007 The second Global Hunger Index presents a gloomy picture when it comes to meeting the MDG targets related to hunger and child mortality. Barring a few regions of the world, it appears that hunger will continue to haunt humanity for a long time to come.

16.10.2007 Irfan Mufti from Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) feels society has to be organised and mobilized to influence policy. The change may not be immediate, but political influence is bound to grow in future.

16.10.2007 The Rajasthan government and UNICEF have joined hands to mobilize volunteers to strengthen routine immunization in the western Indian state. The pilot project will seek to make people aware of the benefits of vaccination and improve infant and child mortality.