Infant mortality rate “at all-time low,” Norton says…Six infant deaths last month at GPHC
“Usually there would be around 40 deaths per month, so this is a great relief…” Public Health Minister Dr. George Norton
Infant mortality rate has reached an all-time low in the last four months, says Public Health Minister Dr. George Norton.
The Minister revealed that while the figures have been distressingly high for the last few years, the ministry received reports that there has been a reduction, with no more than six infant deaths per month.
He stated that for April, six infant died at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Public Health Minister Dr. George Norton
“Usually there would be around 40 deaths per month…so this is a great relief,” Norton said, adding that decreasing the rate has been a priority for the Ministry. He said they have been taking stringent measures to have the rates reduced.
In 2014, more than 160 infant deaths were recorded in a space of five months. Neonatal deaths at the Georgetown Public Hospital for that year alone are as follows: 25 deaths in June, 30 in July, 44 in August, 33 in September and 35 in October.
Last year Guyana failed to reach the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce the rate to less than 14 per 1,000 births. In 2015, that rate stood at 23.1, while child mortality rate under five years of age, which was supposed to be 16, stuck out at 24.2 for 2014.
Minister Norton indicated that according to a multi indicator cluster survey carried out in Guyana, the probability of a baby dying within the first month of life is 22.9 per 1,000 live births and between birth and first birthday is 31.8.
He stated that most infant deaths recorded are caused by infections or the negligence of medical practitioners. “Infant mortality in Guyana is preventable; that is why we should work even harder to stamp it out. This is the vision of this ministry and the vision of the Government,” he said.
Last November, a 35-year-old woman delivered a stillborn baby at the Georgetown Public Hospital. The woman blamed the negligence of the medical personnel and called for a thorough investigation to be launched.