More women and children have greater chances of surviving today, according to a new report on child and maternal mortality.
The report, released by the United Nations group led by UNICEF and the World Health Organization, revealed the Philippines had nearly halved the number of dying infants and of children dying before their fifth birthday, reflecting the global downward trend in maternal and child deaths.
The report showed that more babies are surviving as the number of infant deaths in the Philippines dropped from 40 per 1,000 live births in 1990, to 22 in 2018.
Similarly, more children are surviving past the age of five, from 113,000 deaths down to 63,000 in the same period.
Further, the report showed that 24 percent less women in the Philippines are dying from complications during pregnancy and childbirth, from 160 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000, to 121 in 2017.
Globally, more women and children are surviving today mainly due to improved access to affordable, quality health services scaled up through universal health care.
A trained health workforce, free care for pregnant women and children, and support to family planning led to the substantial decline in child and maternal deaths in many countries.
Southeast Asian countries have made the most progress globally with an 80 percent decline in under-five deaths.
Despite the progress, the report says that around 2.8 million pregnant women and newborns die every year across the globe, or 1 every 11 seconds, mostly of preventable causes, the new estimates say.
Children face the highest risk of dying in the first month, especially if they are born too soon or too small, have complications during birth, congenital defects, or get serious infections. About a third of these deaths occur within the first day and nearly three quarters in the first week alone.
The Philippines passed the Universal Health Care Law to strengthen primary health care by investing in skilled birth attendants, improving access to clean water, adequate nutrition, basic medicines and vaccines, and by supporting family planning.
UNICEF is prioritizing support to the implementation of the law as we see it as a real opportunity to save even more mother’s and children’s lives.