South Sudan Has Highest Infant And Maternal Mortality Rates

23 November 2010 – (Juba) – The United Nation’s Children agency, UNICEF, says that southern Sudan has one of the highest rates of infant and maternal mortality rates in the whole world.

The Director for UNICEF, Yasmin Haque spoke to SRS on Tuesday in Juba as the world commemorates the Convention of the Right of the Child this week.

[Yasmin Haque]: “We see a very high rate of children dying even before they reach their fifth birthday. So, 135 children for every 1000 children who are born alive don’t reach to see their fifth birthday. It is also important that every southern Sudanese child is delivered by someone who is skilled; someone who understands what the complications are. So at the moment you see a complication either for the mother or for the baby, they can get to a place where the services are available. I would like to stress a child’s major development happens in the first three years of life. So if you become malnourished in the first three years of life, you cannot recover for the rest of your life because the damage is done not only to your body but also to your brain”.

Yasmin also says Southern Sudan leads in maternal mortality rates mainly due to lack of adequate medical services and awareness.

[Yasmin Haque]: “One of the worst figures in the whole world is in southern Sudan. Close to 2000 women for every 100, 000 live births, these women die either during pregnancy or during giving birth or within forty days of having given birth. They die for causes that happen to women all over the world. It’s either bleeding, or infection, or the labor goes on too long. If I look at women in southern Sudan, it’s the same five women complications but the difference is, here in southern Sudan, either a family member doesn’t recognize the complication or they know there is no point in going to the health center because there are no services or they don’t have money to rent a transport to go.”

Yasmin Haque says UNICEF, WHO and the GOSS plus other health agencies are working in partnership to address these challenges.