Campaign to curtail child deaths launched

• Complications during birth and harmful practices after birth that lead to infections have been noted as key neonatal causes contributing to the rise in mortality rate in the country and thus the need to be sensitise the public about them.
• Child malnutrition, poor immunisation status, household poverty, maternal illiteracy, poor living conditions and poor home practices during illnesses are some of the underlying factors of child mortality
• According to statistics from Lancet, neonatal mortality accounted for 31 deaths per 1,000 live births of which half were said to occur at home against the total mortality deaths that currently stands at 74 deaths per 1,000 live births.
• The government, World Vision Kenya and Save the Children have resolved to run communication campaigns dubbed “5 and Alive” that will sensitise parents and healthcare givers on best practices due to their roles in reducing high mortality rates.
• The drive will be carried out in stages with the first phase being the sensitisation of the public on major killers and interventions. This will focus mostly on youth in rural areas and the middle class.

The government has partnered with World Vision Kenya and Save the Children organisation in a campaign aimed at reducing number of child deaths in the country.

The public awareness drive is geared to help reduce the number of complications during birth and harmful practices after birth that lead to infections.

The two aspects have been noted as key neonatal causes contributing to the rise in mortality rate in the country and thus the need to be sensitise the public about them.

“Child malnutrition, poor immunisation status, household poverty, maternal illiteracy, poor living conditions and poor home practices during illnesses are some of the underlying factors of child mortality,” said Tatu Kamau, acting head of department at Family health at the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation.

According to statistics from Lancet, neonatal mortality accounted for 31 deaths per 1,000 live births of which half were said to occur at home against the total mortality deaths that currently stands at 74 deaths per 1,000 live births.

“The government had made progress in reducing child mortality but there is a considerable amount that still remains to be done. Lives are lost at the age of five and if this trend continues will not be able to achieve the millennium development goals,” said Duncan Harvey, country director at Save the Children during the launch at a Nairobi Hotel.

The three have resolved to run communication campaigns dubbed “5 and Alive” that will sensitise parents and healthcare givers on best practices due to their roles in reducing high mortality rates.

The campaign is targeting areas including Nairobi, Kisumu, Machakos, Meru, Nakuru and Eldoret.

The drive will be carried out in stages with the first phase being the sensitisation of the public on major killers and interventions. This will focus mostly on youth in rural areas and the middle class.

However, organisers are not certain on the timeline of the initiative.

“We need to give a greater national priority to children’s issues. Through this campaign we will be calling for urgent action so that gaps and the growing disparity in child health survival can be addressed,” said Ms Tatu.

The millennium development goal four projects a reduction of child mortality rate from 74 to 33 per 1,000 live births by 2015.