[child-rights] UNICEF reports 'child survival crisis' in Caucasus, Central Asia

UN CHILDREN'S FUND REPORTS 'CHILD SURVIVAL CRISIS' IN CAUCASUS, CENTRAL ASIA
New York, Jul 22 2003 10:00AM

Reporting a "child survival crisis" in the Caucasus and Central Asia, the 
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said today infant mortality rates 
in nine countries were up to four times higher than official figures long 
claimed, and 12 times those of western industrialized countries, with most 
deaths being preventable.

"Misunderstanding the scope of what's happening prevents effective action 
to fix it, so getting the numbers right is a major issue. It's a crucial 
first step to saving young lives," Executive Director Carol Bellamy said of 
the new report, UNICEF's "Social Monitor 2003" produced by the agency's 
Innocenti Research Centre in Florence, Italy.

"Our research shows that infant mortality is a far greater problem in these 
countries than suggested in the official data. We have looked beyond the 
official statistics and talked to mothers in their own homes. And their 
stories reveal a child survival crisis," she added.

The report focuses on eight countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia ­ 
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, 
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan ­ plus Romania and Ukraine. It compares official 
rates against data gathered in face-to-face interviews with women.

In all eight Caucasus and Central Asian countries, the estimated rate from 
the surveys is far higher than the official one ­ in Azerbaijan, for 
example, four times greater, with 74 infant deaths for every 1,000 live 
births compared to an official rate of 17 per 1,000. Romania also appears 
affected by under-reporting, but on a smaller scale.

The rate in the Caucasus and Central Asia is five times greater than in the 
rest of Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent 
States.

A mix of factors such as poverty, poor maternal health and nutrition, 
infection and poor medical care are to blame for most of the deaths. "What 
we have is two distinct problems," Ms. Bellamy said. "We have tens of 
thousands of infant deaths that should be prevented. And we have a systemic 
failure to properly count the lives being lost."

Examining the reasons for the gap, the Social Monitor highlights failure to 
define "live birth" according to international standards, misreporting 
deaths at the local level and barriers to birth registration. A death may 
go unrecorded because officially the baby was never "alive." According to 
the UN World Health Organization (WHO) definition an infant is alive at 
birth if breathing or showing any other signs of life, such as muscle 
movement or heartbeat but under Soviet-era definition breathing is the only 
criterion.

The report calls for adoption of the WHO definition, improved training of 
medical staff and incentives for parents to promptly register the births of 
their children.

The Social Monitor is an annual regional report examining the well being of 
children in the transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the 
Commonwealth of Independent States.




--
The "child-rights" mailing list provides information on issues related
to children's human rights. Archives of "child-rights" messages, as well
as instructions on how to (un)subscribe to the list, can be found at:
http://www.hrea.org/lists/child-rights/markup/maillist.php