Day: January 14, 2023

Another 1.9 million babies were tragically stillborn during the same period, according to a separate UN report.

 

NEW YORK/GENEVA/WASHINGTON D.C., 10 January 2023 – An estimated 5 million children died before their fifth birthday and another 2.1 million children and youth aged between 5–24 years lost their lives in 2021, according to the latest estimates released by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME).

 

In a separate report also released today, the group found that 1.9 million babies were stillborn during the same period. Tragically, many of these deaths could have been prevented with equitable access and high-quality maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health care.

 

“Every day, far too many parents are facing the trauma of losing their children, sometimes even before their first breath,” said Vidhya Ganesh, UNICEF Director of the Division of Data Analytics, Planning and Monitoring. “Such widespread, preventable tragedy should never be accepted as inevitable. Progress is possible with stronger political will and targeted investment in equitable access to primary health care for every woman and child.”

 

The reports show some positive outcomes with a lower risk of death across all ages globally since 2000. The global under-five mortality rate fell by 50 per cent since the start of the century, while mortality rates in older children and youth dropped by 36 per cent, and the stillbirth rate decreased by 35 per cent. This can be attributed to more investments in strengthening primary health systems to benefit women, children and young people.

 

However, gains have reduced significantly since 2010, and 54 countries will fall short of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals target for under-five mortality. If swift action is not taken to improve health services, warn the agencies, almost 59 million children and youth will die before 2030, and nearly 16 million babies will be lost to stillbirth.

 

“It is grossly unjust that a child’s chances of survival can be shaped just by their place of birth, and that there are such vast inequities in their access to lifesaving health services,” said Dr Anshu Banerjee, Director for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing at the World Health Organization (WHO). “Children everywhere need strong primary health care systems that meet their needs and those of their families, so that – no matter where they are born – they have the best start and hope for the future.”

 

Children continue to face wildly differentiating chances of survival based on where they are born, with sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia shouldering the heaviest burden, the reports show. Though sub-Saharan Africa had just 29 per cent of global live births, the region accounted for 56 per cent of all under-five deaths in 2021, and Southern Asia for 26 per cent of the total. Children born in sub-Saharan Africa are subject to the highest risk of childhood death in the world – 15 times higher than the risk for children in Europe and Northern America.

 

Mothers in these two regions also endure the painful loss of babies to stillbirth at an exceptional rate, with 77 per cent of all stillbirths in 2021 occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Nearly half of all stillbirths happened in sub-Saharan Africa. The risk of a woman having a stillborn baby in sub-Saharan Africa is seven times more likely than in Europe and North America.

 

“Behind these numbers are millions of children and families who are denied their basic rights to health,” said Juan Pablo Uribe, Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population, World Bank and Director of the Global Financing Facility. “We need political will and leadership for sustained financing for primary health care which is one of the best investments countries and development partners can make.”

 

Access to and availability of quality health care continues to be a matter of life or death for children globally. Most child deaths occur in the first five years, of which half are within the very first month of life. For these youngest babies, premature birth and complications during labour are the leading causes of death. Similarly, more than 40 per cent of stillbirths occur during labour – most of which are preventable when women have access to quality care throughout pregnancy and birth. For children that survive past their first 28 days, infectious diseases like pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria pose the biggest threat.

 

While COVID-19 has not directly increased childhood mortality – with children facing a lower likelihood of dying from the disease than adults – the pandemic may have increased future risks to their survival. In particular, the reports highlight concerns around disruptions to vaccination campaigns, nutrition services, and access to primary health care, which could jeopardize their health and well-being for many years to come. In addition, the pandemic has fuelled the largest continued backslide in vaccinations in three decades, putting the most vulnerable newborns and children at greater risk of dying from preventable diseases.

 

The reports also note gaps in data, which could critically undermine the impact of policies and programmes designed to improve childhood survival and well-being.

 

“The new estimates highlight the remarkable global progress since 2000 in reducing mortality among children under age 5,” said John Wilmoth, Director, UN DESA Population Division. “Despite this success, more work is needed to address persistent large differences in child survival across countries and regions, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Only by improving access to quality health care, especially around the time of childbirth, will we be able to reduce these inequities and end preventable deaths of newborns and children worldwide.”

 

Source: World Health Organization

In December 2022, IOM Yemen DTM recorded 10,620 migrants entering Yemen, a 15 per cent increase compared to November 2022 (9,212). In Lahj (8,220 migrants) DTM has registered an increase in arrivals by 62 per cent compared to the last month (5,081 migrants). This stands in contrast to Shabwah (2,400) which registered a decrease this month by 42 per cent. In other terms, migration flows shifted from Bari, Somalia (-42%) towards Obock, Djibouti (+62%). The overall increase could be linked to weather conditions, sea tides and decreased coast guard patrolling in Djibouti. While travel had been primarily due to economic reasons in the first half of the year, DTM has been recording conflict induced movements since August, being the reason for 19 per cent of all incoming movements in December. All conflict motivated travel was recorded in Shabwah coming from Bari, Somalia (23% children, 17% women and 60% men).

 

Due to the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Yemen and the challenges in moving towards KSA, many migrants opted to return to the Horn of Africa. DTM teams in Djibouti recorded that during December 2022, a total of 583 migrants took the risky return by boat from Yemen to travel home. Moreover, DTM recorded 5,047 Yemeni returns from KSA during the month of December 2022, compared to 5,421 in November 2022. Between 1 January and 31 December 2022, DTM recorded 73,233 migrants and 65,737 Yemeni migrant returnees to Yemen.

 

The migrant caseload was around 97 per cent Ethiopian nationals, and around three per cent Somali nationals. The migrants are predominantly male (73%), with (19%) women, five per cent boys and three per cent girls also among the travelers.

 

Through December’s reporting period, 2,400 migrants arrived from Somalia and were recorded at Ber Ali flow monitoring point in Shabwah governorate. In Lahj governorate, 8,220 migrants arrived from Djibouti, where 6,010 were recorded at Al Azaf flow monitoring point (FMP), 1,623 at Al Makhabbah FMP, and 587 at Al Cawhah FMP.

 

Source: International Organization for Migration’

Close to one billion people globally are served by health-care facilities with no electricity access or with unreliable electricity

 

New joint report launched

 

Close to 1 billion people in low- and lower-middle income countries are served by health-care facilities with unreliable electricity supply or with no electricity access at all, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll). Access to electricity is critical for quality health-care provision, from delivering babies to managing emergencies like heart attacks, or offering lifesaving immunization. Without reliable electricity in all health-care facilities, Universal Health Coverage cannot be reached, the report notes.

 

Increasing electrification of health-care facilities is essential to save lives

 

The joint report, Energizing Health: Accelerating Electricity Access in Health-Care Facilities, presents the latest data on electrification of health-care facilities in low- and middle-income countries. It also projects investments required to achieve adequate and reliable electrification in health-care and identify key priority actions for governments and development partners.

 

“Electricity access in health-care facilities can make the difference between life and death,” said Dr Maria Neira, Assistant Director-General a.i, for Healthier Populations at WHO. “Investing in reliable, clean and sustainable energy for health-care facilities is not only crucial to pandemic preparedness, it’s also much needed to achieve universal health coverage, as well as increasing climate resilience and adaptation.”

 

Electricity is needed to power the most basic devices – from lights and communications equipment to refrigeration, or devices that measure vital signs like heartbeat and blood pressure – and is critical for both routine and emergency procedures. When health-care facilities have access to reliable sources of energy, critical medical equipment can be powered and sterilized, clinics can preserve lifesaving vaccines, and health workers can carry out essential surgeries or deliver babies as planned.

 

And yet, in South Asia and sub-Saharan African countries, more than 1 in 10 health facilities lack any electricity access whatsoever, the report finds, while power is unreliable for a full half of facilities in sub-Saharan Africa. Although there has been some progress in recent years on electrification of health-care facilities, approximately 1 billion people worldwide are served by health-care facilities without a reliable electricity supply or no electricity at all. To put this in perspective, this is close to the entire populations of the United States, Indonesia, Pakistan and Germany combined.

 

Disparities in electricity access within countries are also stark. Primary health-care centres and rural health facilities are considerably less likely to have electricity access than hospitals and facilities in urban areas. Understanding such disparities is key to identifying where actions are most urgently needed, and to prioritize the allocation of resources where they will save lives.

 

Health is a human right and a public good

 

Electricity access is a major enabler of Universal Health Coverage, the report states, and so electrification of health-care facilities must be considered an utmost development priority requiring greater support and investments from governments, development partners and financing and development organizations.

 

According to a World Bank needs analysis included in the report, almost two-thirds (64%) of health-care facilities in low and middle-income countries require some form of urgent intervention – for instance, either a new electricity connection or a backup power system – and some US$ 4.9 billion is urgently needed to bring them to a minimal standard of electrification.

 

No need – and not time – to ‘wait for the grid’

 

Decentralized sustainable energy solutions, for example based on solar photovoltaics systems, are not only cost-effective and clean, but also rapidly deployable on site, without the need to wait for the arrival of the central grid. Solutions are readily available, and the impact for public health would be huge.

 

Additionally, healthcare systems and facilities are increasingly affected by the accelerating impacts of climate change. Building climate-resilient health care systems means building facilities and services that can meet the challenges of a changing climate, such as extreme weather events, while improving environmental sustainability.

 

 

Source: World Health Organization