Report: 200M Children Lack Health Care

U.S.-Based Charity Notes That 10 Million Children Die Annually From Treatable Diseases

(AP)  More than 200 million children worldwide under age 5 do not get basic health care, leading to nearly 10 million deaths annually from treatable ailments like diarrhea and pneumonia, a U.S.-based charity said Tuesday.

Nearly all of the deaths occur in the developing world, with poor children facing twice the risk of dying compared to richer children, according to Save the Children's global report.

Sweden, Norway and Iceland top the ranking in terms of well-being for mothers and children in 146 countries surveyed, while Nigeria ranks last.

Eight out of 10 bottom-ranked countries are in sub-Saharan Africa, where four out of five mothers are likely to lose a child in their lifetime, Save the Children said.

The bright spots among 55 developing countries are the Philippines, Peru and South Africa - all surveyed for the first time. Indonesia and Turkmenistan tied for fourth.

Laos, Yemen, Chad, Somalia and Ethiopia were found doing the worst among developing countries, the report said.

Through a number of health initiatives, including access to oral rehydration to treat diarrhea, the Philippines has nearly cut its child death rate in half since 1990, said David Oot, Save the Children's associate vice president.

Today, more than 75 percent of Filipino children with diarrhea receive rehydration therapy, compared with 15 percent of Ethiopian children, he said.

An alarming number of countries are failing to provide the most basic health services that would save lives, with 30 percent of children in developing countries not getting basic health intervention such as prenatal care, skilled assistance during birth, immunizations and treatment for diarrhea and pneumonia.

Wide disparities in health care for the poorest and best-off children are seen even in the highest-ranked countries, the report said.

In the Philippines and Peru, for example, the poorest children are 3.2 times more likely to go without essential health care than their best-off counterparts.

The poorest Peruvian children are 7.4 times more likely to die than their richest counterparts, while the chances are 3.2 times higher for poor Filipino children.

In Latin America, Brazil, Bolivia and Peru have some of the world's widest survival gaps between rich and poor children. In Asia, large disparities also exist in India and Indonesia.

Use of existing, low-cost tools and knowledge could save more than 6 million of the 9.7 million children who die yearly from easily preventable or curable causes, the report said.

They include antibiotics that cost less than 30 U.S. cents to treat pneumonia, the top killer of children under 5, and oral rehydration therapy - a simple solution of salt, sugar and potassium - for diarrhea, the second top killer.

Save the Children recommended more funding for basic health systems and a basic package of maternal, newborn and child health care tailored to the poor. But a key to progress is investing in community health workers who can educate their neighbors about healthy behavior and treating common illnesses.

It gave as example the experience of Toula village in the West African nation of Mali, where officials have reported a 90 percent drop in infant deaths since a health volunteer began treating common illnesses like diarrhea and organizing immunization sessions.

I discovered that $25 a year makes a difference. So I set aside $25 a month and made a bigger difference.
Look up the Peanut Butter Project or Project Peanut Butter. It beats the keyboard blues. Good luck.

[rushlimpdrug]

Guys, the story is "200M in the WORLD",
The number is not an American number......
Posted by donbl1 at 05:21 PM

So why care?

[donbl1]

Guys, the story is "200M in the WORLD",

The number is not an American number......

[rushlimpdrug]

"Report: 200M Children Lack Health Care"

As any good christian compassionate republican
would say, "Who cares?"


The thinking is if your child doesn''t have health care
it''s your fault, so suck it up.

Welcome to the "New And Improved America"

Now get to work you morons.

[skyk-2009]

A concept from the ancient days of the Neanderthal. But then came evolution and people grew wise and smarter.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by rudy654 at 03:18 PM : May 06, 2008
+ report abuse

Very true indeed. When I was a child Medical Insurance came with the job...the cost of caring for this nation was built into the system. We, the United States, made it a requirement that we care for the sick and aging...it''s an OATH Doctors take. Guess that makes him wrong now doesn''t it? REAL American''s, the American my Pop was, NEVER allowed these things to happen...why should we?

[skyk-2009]

Ahhh gotta love those Nazi''s... Sieg Heil Bush

[rudy654-2009]

A testimony to the fact that medical care is not a right, but a service that is available based on ability to pay.
******************
A concept from the ancient days of the Neanderthal. But then came evolution and people grew wise and smarter.

[randynason]

Given the millions upon millions of wasted dollars that the government has literally flushed down the toilet of greed, this realization is a sin of world-wide proportions. Mankind needn''t worry about leaving a humane legacy behind. His/her neglect of the planet and his own species is well-documented and etched in stone for all time. We all know it, even if we sometimes wish to ignore it and feign ignorance.

[singingrick]

This is another legacy of Republicon rule, a 3 trillion dollar war and an infant mortality rate that rivals the third world.

I guess they think that life is sacred until birth. After that, the little bastarrds can just pull themselves up by their bootstraps.


Thanks Bushies!

[drinuk]

ibsteve2u. Cretin. There are non so blind as those who will not see.