In eight countries – Bangladesh, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Haiti, Mali, Niger and Togo – the situation is particularly worrisome. In those countries, only up to a third of children who had had ARI within two weeks of the survey had been seen by a doctor or other health care provider. Overall, in 18 of the 29 countries surveyed, fewer than half of the children with ARI were taken to a health care provider.

The surveys showed that children in eastern and southern African countries were somewhat better off than those in West Africa, as more than half of those with ARI were taken to health care providers, compared with fewer than a third of children in West African countries.

ARI is a leading cause of mortality in young children, killing nearly 2 million children under the age of five in developing countries every year. Of crucial importance in preventing these deaths is the fact that when a child develops ARI, he or she needs to be seen by a health care provider. Whether or not this happens depends on a number of variables, including whether family members can recognize the signs of ARI – a cough accompanied by rapid breathing – and know to seek expert care. Other factors include whether good care and drugs are easily available and accessible and whether women’s status prevents children from receiving the professional health care they need.

An analysis of survey results shows that educated mothers are more likely to seek professional health care when a child has ARI than are mothers with no education. In Cameroon, for example, children whose mothers are educated are three to four times more likely to be seen by a health provider than are children whose mothers are not educated.

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