JOIN DRIVERN TAXI AS PARTNER DRIVER TODAY!
Zambia rated among African countries with improved child health care
Lusaka, April 11, ZANIS —-Zambia is among the six countries in Africa which are on track to achieving the low child mortality rate.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Country Representative Iyorlumum Uhaa commended the Zambian government for the strides it is making in the health sector.
Dr Uhaa who could not name the other five African countries doing well however said Zambia needs to re-double her efforts in accelerating the challenges associated with child deaths.
Dr Uhaa who commended Zambia’s efforts in health delivery while speaking at a press briefing in Lusaka today however, bemoaned the long distances between one health centre to the other.
And visiting UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Geeta Rao Gupta urged the government to utilise the platform by engaging all stakeholders to address the challenges in the health sector in the remaining couple of years before the United Nations 2015 Millennium Development Goal on achieving quality health care.
Ms Gupta also echoed similar sentiments that Zambia has made great strides in maternal and child health especially in areas of immunization, malaria prevention and control as well as access to anti retroviral drugs.
She said an initiative dubbed “A promise Renewed” gives Zambia hope to preserve the productive age group from 18 to 36 who constitute 75 percent of the country’s population.
She added that these gains were possible through the efforts of Zambian government through increased investments in programmes implemented by the Ministry of Health as well as donors using global fund such as the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Ms Gupta reiterated her organisation’s commitment to assisting Zambia to identify and reach-out to disadvantaged children in remote communities noting that it was un-acceptable for mothers and children to die in a premature manner amidst plenty of health care interventions.
