Injuries and intoxications are the main causes of under-5 mortality in Moldova

In 2006, 9.7 million children died worldwide from preventable causes before their fifth birthday, UNICEF said in its flagship report “State of the World’s Children 2008”, devoted this year to Child Survival. In Moldova, injuries and intoxications were the leading causes of mortality among children younger than 5, accounting for 38.8 percent of all under-5 deaths. According to a press release from UNICEF Moldova, cited by Info-Prim Neo, this situation is ascribed to parents’ negligence. The national report “Assistance and Early Development of Children” reveals that 20 percent of parents cannot tell any sign of sicknesses that can pose threats to their children’s life. Three in one hundred parents would not call a doctor when their children fall sick, while six would not buy medicine, even if they could afford it. According to the same report, one in five parents admitted that they left their under 3 children unsupervised at least once. Covering 196 countries, including Moldova, UNICEF’s report “State of the World’s Children 2008” reveals that more than 26,000 children under five die each day somewhere in the world. Even if the rate of under-five mortality fell considerably (by 60 percent since 1960), UNICEF calls the loss of 9.7 million young lives in one year unacceptable, all the more since it could have been prevented. According the world report, the main causes of maternal and child mortality are: poorly resourced, unresponsive and culturally inappropriate health and nutrition services; food insecurity; inadequate feeding practices; lack of hygiene and access to safe water or adequate sanitation; female illiteracy; early pregnancy; discrimination and exclusion of mothers and children from access to essential health and nutrition services and commodities due to poverty and geographic or political marginalisation. These factors result in millions of unnecessary deaths each year. And despite some progress, the world is not yet on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goal target of a two-thirds reduction in the rate of child mortality by 2015, the report says.