460,000 children under five years of age die annually in Pakistan: report

[Fuego]

ISLAMABAD: The mortality rate of children under five years of age stands at 89 deaths per 1,000 live births in Pakistan, and an estimated 460,000 such children die each year in the country, one of the biggest rates in South Asia.

Around 30 percent of children in Pakistan are chronically malnourished, and 2.1 million babies are born in the country with severe intellectual impairment caused by iodine deficiency.According to a report launched by the Society for the Protection of the Rights

of the Child (SPARC), the recent statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO) are higher, indicating that 33.3 percent of children under five as being underweight.


It is estimated that 35 percent of the diseases that burden children under-five are linked with malnutrition.Talking to APP, Child Rights Coordinator, Shaista Kiran, said the first two years of a child’s life were particularly important as optimal nutrition during this period would lead to reduced morbidity and mortality, reduced risk of chronic diseases and better development overall.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Child (UNCRC), every infant and child has the right to good nutrition.Globally, 30 percent of children under-five are estimated to be stunted, and 18 percent have low weight for height, mostly as a consequence of poor feeding and repeated infections.

Shaista Kiran said that the government had aimed at ensuring a 100 percent availability of iodized salt in the market by 2015.Recent floods in the country also resulted in the loss of food crops which further worsened the food security situation in addition to increased incidents of water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, which also contributes to malnourishment.According to the statistics, nearly 126,000 of the total number of children under five years of age affected by floods are at risk of being severely malnourished.

460,000 children under five years of age die annually in Pakistan: report - thenews.com.pk

 

[karan.1970]

^^ One of the reasons why Pakistan's HDI rating was revised from medium to low last year..

 

[Icewolf]

India is the biggest in south asia... 5000 kids x 365 days ... india poor children dying

 

[Fuego]

The report came out just 2 days ago!

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Icewolf]

1,825,000 children die annualy in India if you multiply average daily death of 5000 kids in india x 365...

 

[guru1]

Polio campaign troubles imperil 350,000 Pakistan children

A Polio immunization campaign was postponed this week after widespread condemnation from the local Taliban and warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadur. The postponement puts at least 350,000 Pakistani children at risk.
Monday, July 16th 2012, 06:49 AM




Pakistan on Monday postponed a polio immunization campaign in parts of its tribal belt, jeopardizing the health of more than 350,000 children after the Taliban banned inoculations.

Local Taliban and Pakistani warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadur, whose followers are fighting Western troops in Afghanistan, banned the vaccinations in the northwestern region of Waziristan to protest against US drone attacks.
They have condemned the immunization campaign, which began nationwide on Monday, as a cover for espionage.
Pakistani doctor Shakeel Afridi was jailed for 33 years in May after helping the CIA find Osama bin Laden using a hepatitis vaccination program as cover.
Fighting between government troops and local warlord Mangal Bagh also made it difficult to inoculate all children in Khyber district, officials said.
"The campaign has been postponed in North and South Waziristan and Bara (district) of Khyber," Mazhar Nisar, in charge of the polio monitoring cell at the prime minister's secretariat, told AFP.
Officials in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, said a meeting of tribal elders to discuss immunization had been postponed due to a military curfew.
In Khyber, administration official Irfanullah Wazir told AFP that the target was to vaccinate 200,163 children, but conceded the campaign would be affected in parts of Bara and the Tirah valley, where 111,556 children need the drops.
"We will make every effort to reach the maximum children in those areas, with the help of security forces and lashkars (pro-government tribal militias)," Wazir said.
Fawad Khan, director of health services in the tribal belt, told AFP last week that at least 160,000 children in North Waziristan and 80,000 in South Waziristan would be affected if polio drops are not administered.
Pakistan says 34 million children under five will be targeted in the three-day polio immunization campaign from Monday to Wednesday.
The prime minister's office said 22 vaccination points had been established on the Afghan-Pakistani border, but expected that a "substantial proportion" of children in Bara, South and North Waziristan would not be accessed.
The Lancet medical journal has said vaccination problems led last year to Pakistan's highest number of polio cases in a decade, 198, compared to 144 in 2010.
Polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.
The highly infectious disease affects mainly the under-fives and can cause paralysis in a matter of hours. Some cases can be fatal.

 

[SamranAli]

cant believe.

 

[Fuego]

^^ One of the reasons why Pakistan's HDI rating was revised from medium to low last year..

Oops! HDI means Human Development Index. I forgot. My bad.

 

[Icewolf]

15000 children die in India in 3 days - Rediff.com News

So 5000 x 365 thats 1,825,000 dying annualy in India, worst rate in the world

 

[Fuego]

Polio campaign troubles imperil 350,000 Pakistan children

A Polio immunization campaign was postponed this week after widespread condemnation from the local Taliban and warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadur. The postponement puts at least 350,000 Pakistani children at risk.
Monday, July 16th 2012, 06:49 AM




Pakistan on Monday postponed a polio immunization campaign in parts of its tribal belt, jeopardizing the health of more than 350,000 children after the Taliban banned inoculations.

Local Taliban and Pakistani warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadur, whose followers are fighting Western troops in Afghanistan, banned the vaccinations in the northwestern region of Waziristan to protest against US drone attacks.
They have condemned the immunization campaign, which began nationwide on Monday, as a cover for espionage.
Pakistani doctor Shakeel Afridi was jailed for 33 years in May after helping the CIA find Osama bin Laden using a hepatitis vaccination program as cover.
Fighting between government troops and local warlord Mangal Bagh also made it difficult to inoculate all children in Khyber district, officials said.
"The campaign has been postponed in North and South Waziristan and Bara (district) of Khyber," Mazhar Nisar, in charge of the polio monitoring cell at the prime minister's secretariat, told AFP.
Officials in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, said a meeting of tribal elders to discuss immunization had been postponed due to a military curfew.
In Khyber, administration official Irfanullah Wazir told AFP that the target was to vaccinate 200,163 children, but conceded the campaign would be affected in parts of Bara and the Tirah valley, where 111,556 children need the drops.
"We will make every effort to reach the maximum children in those areas, with the help of security forces and lashkars (pro-government tribal militias)," Wazir said.
Fawad Khan, director of health services in the tribal belt, told AFP last week that at least 160,000 children in North Waziristan and 80,000 in South Waziristan would be affected if polio drops are not administered.
Pakistan says 34 million children under five will be targeted in the three-day polio immunization campaign from Monday to Wednesday.
The prime minister's office said 22 vaccination points had been established on the Afghan-Pakistani border, but expected that a "substantial proportion" of children in Bara, South and North Waziristan would not be accessed.
The Lancet medical journal has said vaccination problems led last year to Pakistan's highest number of polio cases in a decade, 198, compared to 144 in 2010.
Polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.
The highly infectious disease affects mainly the under-fives and can cause paralysis in a matter of hours. Some cases can be fatal.

Does it mean that 460000 children are dying and 350000 are going to be handicapped in Pakistan??? That's bad.

cant believe.

I know. Its quite obvious.

 

[Icewolf]

BBC News - 'More poor' in India than Africa

On top of that 1,825,000 kids die everyday in india... sad life in india

 

[Jako]

Yeah, in pakistan vaccination is banned by the mullahs as well!
so sad.

 

[Kyusuibu Honbu]

India is the biggest in south asia... 5000 kids x 365 days ... india poor children dying

Yes, Indeed India has the largest in number, even though 5000 kids x 365 days is incorrect.

But same time in terms of number, India has made the largest improvement all of the world.

Child deaths in India in 1990: 3.078 million

Child deaths in India in 2010: 1.696 million.

Child Mortality Report 2011

 

[Jako]

On the top of malnourishment kids are killed by US drones as well because the army is incapable of guarding borders.
so sad.

 

[Icewolf]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/13/world/asia/13malnutrition.html