Health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Disease
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) was one of the first African countries to recognize HIV, registering cases of HIV among hospital patients as early as 1983. At the end of 2001, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated that 1.3 million Congolese (adult and children) were living with HIV/AIDS, yielding an overall adult HIV prevalence of 4.9%. Beyond the 5% mark, the country’s epidemic will be considered “high level,” or firmly established within the general population. By the end of 2003, UNAIDS estimated that 1.1 million people were living with HIV/AIDS, for an overall adult HIV prevalence of 4.2%.[1]
Maternal and Child Health Care
In June 2011, the United Nations Population Fund released a report on The State of the World's Midwifery. It contained new data on the midwifery workforce and policies relating to newborn and maternal mortality for 58 countries. The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Democratic Republic of the Congo is 670. This is compared with 533.6 in 2008 and 550 in 1990. The under 5 mortality rate, per 1,000 births is 199 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under 5's mortality is 26. The aim of this report is to highlight ways in which the Millennium Development Goals can be achieved, particularly Goal 4 – Reduce child mortality and Goal 5 – improve maternal death. In Democratic Republic of the Congo the number of midwives per 1,000 live births is 2 and 1 in 24 shows us the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women. [2]
See also
References
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