Survey shows govt needs to do more to reduce children mortality rate

MANILA, Philippines - The National Statistics Office on Monday said the government would have to do more to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of reducing mortality of children under five years. In the preliminary result of the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), the NSO said that mortality of children under five years had gradually declined to 34 per 1,000 births. The figure was significantly lower than the 54 deaths per 1,000 live births during the period between 1988 and 1992 and 40 deaths in 1998 to 2002. Although the current figure was lower, the Philippines would have to do more to meet the MDG of reducing by two-thirds or 67 percent the under-five mortality or to further decrease to 18 the number of under-five mortality. "The 2008 NDHS estimate represents a decrease of only 37 percent from the base estimate. Maternal and child health program implementers need to redouble efforts to achieve the desired MDG target or under-five mortality rate," the NSO said. Preliminary results also showed "some improvement in maternal care". About 91 percent of women with at least one live birth in the five years prior to the 2008 NDHS had received antenatal care from a health professional compared to 88 percent of the women based on the 2003 NDHS. Meanwhile, in a separate report, the NSO said half of the married women in the Philippines are using contraceptives. The agency said 51 percent of the married women in the Philippines use methods of family planning, a slight increase from 47 percent in 1998 and 49 percent in 2003. More than a third or 34 percent of women who use contraceptives are on the pill (16 percent) and female sterilization (nine percent). The number of women using pill has also grown from 13 percent in 2003 to 16 percent in 2008. Meanwhile, those who plan their family through modern natural family planning methods comprise less than one percent. The 2008 NDHS is a nationally representative survey of almost 14,000 households and 14,000 women with ages between 15 and 49, conducted between August and September last year. The final report on the survey findings will be published in the last quarter of 2009. GMANews.TV