Child Mortality Rates in Pakistan

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INFANT MORTALITY RATE
Infant mortality is a commonly used statistical measure that is defined as the ratio of infant deaths to live births. The most widely used definition of Infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of deaths of babies under one year of age per 1,000 live births.
Traditionally, the most common cause worldwide was dehydration from diarrhea, however a variety of programs combating this problem have decreased the rate of children dying from dehydration. As a result, the most common cause is now pneumonia. Other major causes of infant mortality include: malnutrition, malaria, congenital malformation, infection and SIDS.
IMR was, and remains, higher in LDCs. In 2001, the Infant Mortality Rate for Less Developed Countries (91) was about 10 times as large as it was for More Developed Countries (8).

Infant mortality in Pakistan
Infant mortality in Pakistan is highest among SAARC countries, which at present stands at 70 deaths per 1,000 live births. Pakistan ranks 161 in the list of 194 countries as far as Infant mortality rate is concerned
Series 2 in the graph above is Pakistan whereas series 1 is Global IMR.  As is visible in the chart above, Pakistan’s IMR has constantly declined. From 170 this rate has gradually reduced to 70 today. However, the decline has visibly slowed down from 1980 onwards. When compared with the global IMR, the trend has been more or less similar but the gap between the two widens 1980s onwards.
This poor IMRof Pakistan reflects failure in developing the health sector of the country in terms of being able to provide the required nutrition, hygiene and medical treatments for expecting mothers as well new born babies.


 UNDER 5 MORTALITY RATES

Child mortality, also known as under-5 mortality, refers to the death of infants and children under the age of five. According to UNICEF, most child deaths (and 70% in developing countries result from one the following five causes or a combination thereof:
Malnutrition and the lack of safe water and sanitation contribute to half of all these children’s deaths. Research and experience show that most of the children who die each year could be saved by low-tech, evidence-based, cost-effective measures such as vaccines, antibiotics, micronutrient supplementation, insecticide-treated bed nets, & improved family care. In addition to providing vaccines and antibiotics to children, education could also be provided to mothers about how they can make simple changes to living conditions such as improving hygiene in order to increase the health of their children. Mothers who are educated will also have increased confidence in the ability to take care of their children, therefore providing a healthier relationship and environment for them.


Under 5 Mortality Rate in Pakistan


The under 5 mortality rate started for Pakistan at 210 deaths per 1000 live births. Over time it has now come down to under 87 which is still high as per international standards. In 2010, 7.6 million children under five died, down from 8.1 million in 2009, 8.8 million in 2008, and 12.4 million in 1990. About half of child deaths occur in Africa. This decline has been more or less constant.

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