MANILA, PHILIPPINES, 3 November 2004 – The Department of Health (DOH) expressed confidence that the Philippines can meet the worldwide goal of reducing the number of deaths among children below five years by 2015.

This developed after UNICEF released its first Progress for Children Report on the Millennium Development Goals. The report notes that the Philippines is one of the 90 countries that are on track to meet the target of reducing under-five mortality rates by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015.

“UNICEF considers child mortality rate as a basic measure of a country’s advancement,” says Dr. Nicholas Alipui, UNICEF Representative to the Philippines.

According to the report, a country must have an annual average reduction rate of 4.2 per cent to meet the goal. The Philippine rate is estimated at 4.6 per cent.

“We are confident that we can do it,” Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said, citing the accomplishments of the government’s immunization programs, such as those against polio and measles, as vital reason why the country can reach the global goal.

Alipui, however, cautions that the Philippines may be on track with its national performance but disparities across regions and provinces still exist. Provinces in the Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, where poverty incidence rates are high, may struggle to bridge this gap in mortality rates.