With 3.6 lakh children under five years of age dying from pre-birth complications every year, India has fared disturbingly badly in ensuring health to her kids when compared with the so-called economically backward nations like Nigeria, which has reported 98,300 deaths, followed by Pakistan (75,000), Democratic Republic of the Congo (40,600) and Bangladesh (26,100).
In Indonesia, 25,800 children die due to pre-term complications followed by Ethiopia (24,400), Angola (15,900) and Kenya (13,300), according to a study published in the latest issue of journal The lancet.
It says that the complications of preterm birth now outrank all other causes as the world’s number one killer of young children. Preterm is defined as babies born alive before 37 weeks of pregnancy are completed.
Of the estimated 63 lakh children under age five in 2013, complications from pre-term births accounted for nearly 10 lakh deaths - over 3,000 children dying daily from pre-term birth complications, findings showed.
“This marks a turning of the tide, a transition from infections to neonatal conditions, especially those related to premature births, and this will require entirely different medical and public health approaches,” said Joy lawn from london School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who is a member of the research team.
“The success we have seen in the ongoing fight against infectious diseases demonstrates that we can also be successful if we invest in prevention and care for pre-term birth,” lawn added.
Since 2000, the worldwide mortality rate of children under-five has declined dramatically from 76 to 46 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013.
Some of the highest rates of pre-term deaths are in West Africa, particularly in the countries currently being decimated by Ebola, where the risk will now be even higher given the challenges faced in those countries, notably Sierra leone and liberia.
Other study published in the journal just recently suggests that, with sustained international efforts, the number of premature deaths could be reduced by 40 per cent over the next two decades (2010-2030), halving under-50 mortality and preventing a third of the deaths at ages 50-69 years.
“More than three-quarters of premature babies can be saved with feasible, cost-effective care, like essential care during child birth and in the postnatal period for every mother and baby, antenatal steroid injections (given to pregnant women at risk of preterm labour and antibiotics to treat newborn infections,” said an official from the Health Ministry.