Abstract |
This study has its basis on the Millennium Development Goal 4 that has to do with reduction of the under five mortality rate by two thirds between 1990 and 2015 (United Nations 2009; 24). Children from developing countries are more likely to die within the first five years of life than children in industrialized countries. About half of the deaths of children in the developing world are in Sub-Saharan Africa; many of these deaths are caused by preventable diseases like diarrhea, pneumonia measles and HIV. Poverty has a negative effect on child health, it is no surprise that the highest numbers of infant deaths are in the “developing countries” (United Nations 2008; 21). Poverty goes hand in hand with low socio-economic status of mothers like unemployment, high illiteracy levels, inappropriate accommodation, high fertility rates, poor child spacing among others which all contribute to the vicious cycle of poverty and disease. Improving the socioeconomic status of women would go a long way in reducing child mortality. There are some immediate changes that can be made by governments in the third world to reduce the number of children’s lives lost. Governments of countries in the developing world have a more urgent need to address the problems like the socioeconomic status of women, related to child health, however the amount of resources allocated to these sectors does not seem to reflect its importance. |