Bangui launches plan to reduce maternal and infant mortality

The government of the Central African Republic (CAR) has launched a plan to reduce maternal and infant mortality between 2004 and 2015. The "2004-2015 Operational Plan to Accelerate Reduction of Maternal and Infant Mortality" was launched on 11 July at a ceremony in the capital, Bangui, during celebrations to mark World Population Day. By improving access to health care and providing social support networks, the plan will attempt to reduce the death rate among children under the age of five years by two-thirds by 2015. In addition, CAR hopes to reduce maternal mortality to one-quarter of its present level within the same time frame. Major action points of the plan include improvement of services in rural areas, nutrition monitoring and promotion of breast feeding, global care for HIV/AIDS patients and the implementation and evaluation of a programme entitled "Prevention of HIV transmission from parents to child". According to government statistics, maternal mortality in CAR increased from 683 deaths per 10,000 births in 1988 to 948 deaths in 1995. Infant mortality also jumped significantly in the last five years, rising from 97 deaths per 1,000 births in 1994-1995, to 130 deaths per 1,000 births in the year 2000. The 2004-2005 plan, launched with technical and financial support from the UN World Health Organisation (WHO), the UN Fund for Population Activities and the UN Children's Fund, seeks to address the country's deteriorating health-care situation. The health situation in the CAR has remained precarious due to a chronic shortage of health-care facilities. According to WHO estimates, there is only one health centre per 6,000 inhabitants and one hospital bed for every 1,095 patients across the country. In addition, human resources are insufficient and poorly distributed. Only 17 percent of medical doctors and 10 percent of midwives work in the hinterland. In the rural areas, WHO estimates, 42 percent of women have never received a prenatal consultation, versus 12 percent in Bangui. The high rate of endemic and pandemic diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, as well as the practice of female genital mutilation, constitute the main causes of maternal and infant mortality.