128 CHILDREN DIE OUT OF 1,000 LIVE BIRTHS IN UGANDA

By Evelyn Lirri
Posted Wednesday, March 2 2011 at 00:00
Kampala

The number of children who die before their fifth birthday remains high in Uganda, the State of the World’s Children report shows. The report reveals that infant mortality rate is at 128 per 1,000 live births-ranking Uganda at 19th out of 190 countries studied in the report.
Although under-five mortality figures remain high in many developing countries, the report shows a 33 reduction over the past decade, due to the investment in children’s health.
“In most of the world’s regions, girls are almost as likely as boys to go to primary school, and millions of children now benefit from improved access to safe water and critical medicines such as routine vaccinations,” the report states.
Apart from Burundi which is at 9th position, the other East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda have lower mortality rates than Uganda.
Uganda is now off target in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Based on MDGs, Uganda should reduce child and infant deaths to 58 and 31 per 1,000 births respectively.