Child Mortality In Somalia Essay

Child Mortality in Somalia

“Target 4.A: 
Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate”(http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/childhealth.shtml) This goal is number four of eight total goals of the UN Millennium Goals that were established in 2000. The UN and leading world figures established these goals to address some of the major issues affecting underdeveloped countries. Child mortality rates need to be fixed because it is necessary to sustain the population in a country or area for future growth. Also it is important to reduce the child mortality rate so that cultures in different areas can be carried on in the future. It is sad to see a preventable problem that is so hard to fix.

Somalia, like many other African countries, has a very high child mortality rate. In fact, they have the third highest child mortality rate in the world behind Afghanistan and Mali. In Somalia, 10% of the children die before age five and there are 4 physicians per 100,000 people. This means that healthcare is poor which is a major cause for the high mortality rate. Another reason the rate is so high in Somalia is due to poor sanitation, malnutrition and indoor air pollution. Also, diseases such as diarrhea, malaria, preterm birth complications and pneumonia all contribute to the high rate. Many children and adults aren’t exposed to proper education to learn about how to prevent diseases. The major organizations that work to reduce child mortality rates include Every Women Every Child, The Millennium Goals and The Child Survival Call to Action. Some of those organizations have done a lot to help many countries such as South Africa but have not done as much for Somalia. Some money has been given to Somalia but most o...

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...ogadishu. The classes will be free and there will be volunteer doctors from developed countries teaching the classes. Having classes is the way to prevent these issues from coming back and being spread around.

While efforts of organizations have helped Somalia, more will be needed to be done to reduce the child mortality rate even lower. This plan is very likely to work because it provides education about disease, provides medical help to the affected children, and helps prevent disease for the future by using vaccinations. If funding in schools and other public places, laws being passed, and educational classes can be established, this plan is in the future of Somalia. There hasn’t been a plan set up like this in Somalia before and hopefully over the next year the child mortality rate will reduce. This will help make the UN Millennium Target 4a easier to reach.