Premature births are the leading cause of infant death in the world and sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the most deaths occur, along with Central and Southern Asia, reveals a report by the WHO and UNICEF.
Although the situation is worse in the two mentioned regions, the premature birth rate has not changed in any region of the world in the decade from 2010 to 2020, with 152 million babies vulnerable to being “born prematurely”, they expose in the published report today by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).
The most recent data is from 2020 and shows that there were 4.5 million deaths totaling maternal deaths, stillbirths and newborn deaths, with five African countries in the list of the 10 with the highest number of occurrences.
Nigeria (540,000 deaths) ranks second on the list headed by India, the Democratic Republic of Congo (241,000) fourth, Ethiopia (196,000) fifth and Tanzania (94,000) ranks tenth on the list of these ten countries, which together they also account for 60% of the world total of maternal deaths, stillbirths and deaths of newborns and 51% of births.
Inequalities related to race, ethnicity and access to quality care determine the likelihood of preterm birth and the risk of infant and maternal mortality, even in high-income countries, show updated estimates from WHO and UNICEF that underlie the report, prepared together with the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
For example, almost one in 10 premature babies is born in the 10 most fragile countries affected by humanitarian crises, including DR Congo, which leads, Sudan, Somalia, Chad, South Sudan and the Central African Republic, according to the analysis of data collected for this work.
Prenatal care, skilled care at delivery and postpartum care for mothers and newborns were indicators taken into account in the report, once again emerging from the sub-Saharan region of the African continent as the one facing the greatest risks.
If all the regions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, established by the UN) “have shown a slight improvement by increasing the coverage of at least four observations before calving”, two regions remain “well below the global target ” (90%) to be achieved by 2025, with “Sub-Saharan Africa being the lowest (at 54%),” the report reads.
In another indicator, skilled attendance at delivery, coverage has improved in all regions since 2010, but “estimates for 2022 and projections for 2025 suggest that sub-Saharan Africa will miss the 90% target.”
Also in postpartum care, WHO and UNICEF conclude that sub-Saharan Africa is the region of the world that is furthest “below the target (59%) and is not expected to reach the global target until 2025”.
Globally, the report also highlights that the impacts of conflict, climate change and environmental damage, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the rising cost of living increase risks for women and babies.
For example, “it is estimated that air pollution contributes to six million premature births a year,” indicate those responsible for analyzing the data.
The report was released in the framework of the International Conference on Maternal Neonatal Health, which takes place in Cape Town, South Africa, from May 8 to 11, in which the WHO, UNICEF and other organizations call for action specific to improve care. provided to women and newborns and mitigate the risks of preterm birth.
Source: TSF
