Health in Chad

In 1987 Chad had 4 hospitals, 44 smaller health centers, 1 UNICEF clinic, and 239 other clinics—half under religious auspices. Many regional hospitals were damaged or destroyed in fighting,and health services barely existed in 1987. Public health care expenditures were estimated at 2.9% of GDP. As of 2004, it was estimated that there were fewer than 3 physicians, 15 nurses, and 2 midwives per 100,000 people.[1]

Endemic diseases

All medicine, antibiotic, and vaccine imports must be authorized by the Ministry of Health. The most common diseases are schistosomiasis, leprosy, malaria, spinal meningitis, tuberculosis, and yaws, as well as malnutrition. Immunization rates in 1999 were very low for children up to one year of age: diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 21 percent, and measles, 30 percent. In 2000, 27 percent of the population had access to safe drinking water and 29 percent had adequate sanitation.

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 Chad is 1200. This is compared with 1065.2 in 2008 and 891 in 1990. The under 5 mortality rate, per 1,000 births is 209 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under 5's mortality is 22. 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 Chad the number of midwives per 1,000 live births is 0.4 and the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women 1 in 14.[2]

As of 2000, only 4 percent of married women (ages 15 to 49) used any form of contraception. According to a 2013 UNICEF report, 44% of women in Chad had undergone female genital mutilation.[3] The average life expectancy in 2005 was estimated at 47.18 years.

HIV/AIDS

The HIV/AIDS prevalence was 4.80 per 100 adults in 2003. As of 2004, there were approximately 200,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country. There were an estimated 18,000 deaths from AIDS in 2003.

References

  1. ↑ http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1086.html#medical
  2. ↑ "The State Of The World's Midwifery". United Nations Population Fund. Retrieved August 2011.
  3. ↑ UNICEF 2013, p. 27.

External links

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.