Ammon News - By Khetam Malkawi

AMMAN - The Higher Population Council (HPC) will embark on a survey next month to determine the rate of infant mortality and its causes in the Kingdom, an HPC official said.

HPC Secretary General Raeda Qutob told The Jordan Times that the last study on infant mortality in the Kingdom was conducted in 1990, and all figures provided after that year were estimated.

According to estimated figures, infant mortality in Jordan is currently 19 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 24 per 1,000 in 2002 and 20 per 1,000 in 2007, she noted.

“All the numbers we have are estimated, as some figures are not reported,” she said, adding that infant mortality in Jordan is related to infectious diseases, diarrhoea and sometimes the type of delivery and the mother’s health.

The expert said that despite the achievements in lowering infant mortality in the country after the adoption of necessary vaccines and improved hygienic practices, the target is to decrease this rate to 17 deaths per 1,000 births by 2015.

Reducing child mortality is one of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to be met by all the world's countries by 2015. The others are eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, improving maternal health, combating diseases such as HIV/AIDS, ensuring environmental sustainability and creating global partnerships for development.

The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000.

A total of 191 states, including Jordan, have committed themselves to achieving these goals by the year 2015.

The UNICEF-funded study, which is expected to be launched in February, will be conducted by the HPC, in cooperation with the Civil Status Department, the Ministry of Health, universities, the Royal Medical Services and the National Institute of Forensic Medicine.

It will focus of the causes of neonatal and infant mortality and existing services in health institutions.

According to UNICEF’s 2009 State of the World’s Children report, a child born in a developing country is almost 14 times more likely to die during the first month of life than one born in a developed country.

The report added that 24,000 children under the age of five die every day from preventable causes such as pneumonia and malnutrition.

(Jordan Times)