Sri Lanka shines in slashing maternal, neonatal mortality: Unicef
COLOMBO, 15 January 2009: The UN Thursday hailed Sri Lanka as “a model for other developing nations” for scaling up its health services for mothers and infants, and succeeding in slashing maternal and neonatal mortality rates.
UNICEF in its latest ““State of the World’s Children” Report” said Sri Lanka has managed “to halve its maternal mortality rate every six to 11 years by adopting sound strategies, allocating sufficient resources, providing free healthcare and making education for all a priority”.
According to the report, the maternal mortality ratio in the island nation had dropped from 340 to 44 per 100.000 live births between 1960 and 2005.
Since 1990, the under-five mortality rate has also dropped from 32 per 1.000 live births to 13 per 1.000 in 2000.
The UNICEF report 2009 released Thursday said in spite of decades of civil conflict and the devastating effects of the 2004 tsunami, Sri Lanka has showed political commitment to improve the health of mothers and children”.
“While the Suth Asian country still faces challenges – such as high levels of under-nutrition and regional disparities in terms of maternal care – the overall picture of maternal and neonatal health is one of remarkable progress over past decades,” UNICEF’s country representative Philippe Duamelle said in a statement.
Kilde: The Push Journal
