NSO: 169 infants in RP die daily

By DAVID DIZON, abs-cbnNEWS.com

Sepsis and other complications are killing some 169 infants in the Philippines every day before they turn one, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said Tuesday.

NSO Administrator Carmelita Ericta said 25 out of every 1,000 live births in the Philippines end in death before they turn one, totalling 62,000 infant deaths every year.

She said 34 babies out of every 1,000 die before they reach the age of five, according to results of the National Demographic and Health Survey conducted in 2008. While the numbers are lower than the ones recorded five years ago, Ericta said it is still a far cry from the United Nations Millennium Development Goal for the Philippines of 18 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births by the year 2015.

“A lot of these deaths are caused by such preventable problems such as diarrhea and respiratory problems. We need to reduce under-five mortality rate by half in six years, which means we have to work double-time to achieve it,” the country’s census chief told reporters.

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Dr. Junice Melgar, executive director of the Linangan ng Kababaihan (Likhaan) NGO, said the popularity of “hilots” or traditional birth attendants in rural areas is one factor that could lead to the death of either the mother or the infant.

“The hilots are popular because they provide personal service to the family but they cannot deal with emergency cases such as bleeding or hypertension of the mother. What these mothers need is access to emergency obstetric care,” she said.

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