Sheenaz El- Halabi stated that the 2006 Botswana Demographic Survey revealed an Infant Mortality Rate of 51 deaths per 1,000 live births and an under five year-old mortality rate of 76 deaths per 1, 000 live births. "If this trend continues, Botswana is unlikely to reach the Millennium Development Goal of reducing child mortality rate by two thirds of 1990 levels by 2015," she stated when was making a presentation on Maternal and Child Health in Botswana yesterday at a media briefing on the Day of the African Child held at the United Nations Conference Room.
She explained that in most cases, the causes of child mortality are known and preventable. "These are diseases such as diarrhoea, pneumonia, respiratory disorder, anemia, contact with and exposure to HIV. In all these deaths, we really know where the problems are and what has to be done," she said. El-Halabi added that maternal mortality trends have not abated over the years. "A significant number of pregnant women attend the ante-natal care with 98 percent having skilled supervised delivery but we still have high maternal deaths. Their attendance shows that we are doing well as compared to other countries in the region," she said.
