ABUJA – As the world marks World Prematurity Day, experts have said that pre-term births is the leading cause of child mortality and advocate urgent global action against the epidemic.
The Independent Expert Review Group (IERG) on Information and Accountability for Women and Children’s Health made this assertion in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.
The IERG is the principal global review group which monitors progress on the recommendations from the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women and Children’s Health.
The group reports to the UN Secretary-General.
According to the statement, preterm births is the largest single cause of death among children under five, yet the largely preventable cause of childhood mortality is almost ignored by the international community.
It said that the latest data on child mortality showed that of the 6.3 million childhood deaths in 2013, 965,000 were caused by pre-term birth complications.
“More than two in five deaths among children under five now take place in the first month of life.
“The highest proportion of pre-term birth related deaths occur in Southeast Asia followed by the Americas and Europe, ’’ the statement said.
It said that in India, over half, which is 56 per cent of all under-five child deaths, occurred in the newborn period.
According to the statement, newborn survival is not made a measurable priority in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), despite political attention given to child mortality.
“As the world approaches the end of the MDG era in 2015, it is essential that the increasing importance of newborns and pre-term birth mortality is recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals, ’’ it said.
The statement said that some of the solutions to end newborn deaths from pre-term births included, stronger health systems, universal health coverage and provision of high quality care by midwives.
“Every country should mark World Prematurity Day by ensuring that they have a plan to invest in the care of small and ill-newborn babies
“These plans should address the quality of newborn care and obstacles to delivering such care while countries should establish a mechanism to monitor and review care of their newborns.”
The statement added that efforts to prevent prematurity and its harmful consequences must include addressing the social determinants of health for girls and women.
According to the statement, IERG urged all those responsible for the health of newborn children to embrace and implement the recommendations contained in the Every Newborn Action Plan launched by the WHO and UNICEF in 2014.
It said that action by countries to save the lives of children born prematurely showed the measure of the commitment of that society to the future of its own people.
NAN reports that World Prematurity Day is observed annually on Nov. 17, to raise awareness on pre-term birth and their families worldwide. (NAN)