Child and maternal health
Every child has the right to grow up healthy
Challenges
At an alarming rate of 78 children under the age of 5 who die in every 1000 live births - which is equivalent to more than 30,000 children who will still die before their fifth birthday – Burundi needs to make considerable efforts to reduce:
- The maternal mortality ratio from 334 to less than 70 per 100,000 live births;
- Neonatal mortality to as low as 12 per 1000 live births;
- Under-five mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1000 live births;
Considerable progress has been made in reducing the number of HIV infection cases and improving the coverage and quality of emergency obstetric care. Since 2010, new HIV infections have decreased by at least 54 percent and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) related deaths declined by half.
Robust investment is needed to preserve and accelerate progress made in child and maternal health. The health sector in Burundi remains highly dependent on foreign funding.
More new-born deaths could be avoided through adequate birth spacing, quality health care, appropriate health preventive behaviour, and adequate training of health workers.
While the country remained free of epidemics for the most of 2018, at least 102 cholera cases and 6,5 million cases of malaria had been identified by end of the year. And as of November 3rd, 2019, 1062 cholera cases were reported.
Solutions
UNICEF is working with the Government, UN agencies and other partners to improve the health of vulnerable children and women, through simple, cost-effective and high-impact health interventions.
At the national level, UNICEF contributes to the planification, coordination, support, supervision of activities, supply, monitoring and evaluation of health-related activities.
UNICEF also works with partners to improve the delivery of quality public healthcare services, including:
- Health system strengthening;
- Immunization;
- Malaria prevention and treatment;
- Adequate training of health workers;
- Emergency neonatal and obstetrical care (EmNOC);
- Community-level pregnancy follow-up and referral;
- Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV;
- iCCM that bring care close to population in need;
Resources
Available publications, surveys, reports will be added in this section.
