MORTALITY RATE INCREASING IN SABAH

By : PKR MEDIA

PKR Supreme Council Member cum PKR SABAH State Secretary Dr. Roland Chia Ming Shen is very concern with the high mortality rate deaths involving children under five years of age in Sabah for two years in a row. Instead of a decreasing trend, it is increasing instead. There must be a flaw in the system in addressing this problem.

In 2010, The mortality rate for children under five years of age in Sabah was 9.8 per 1,000 live births, or 525 deaths last year. 1% higher than 2009.

In 2009, Sabah recorded infant mortality rate of 8.8 per 1,000 live births last year, equivalent to 471 infant deaths. An increase of from 2009 to 2010.

To add salt into injuries, this is still higher than the national average of 6.2 per cent per 1,000 live births in 2008.

In 2000, the Millennium Summit in New York had brought together 189 nations to deliberate on how to improve the future humanity.

The result was the United Nations Millennium Declaration, which established the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to be achieved by the year 2015.

Out of the eight MDGs, MDG 4 is aimed at reducing the mortality rate of children under five by two-thirds by the year 2015 compared to 1990.

“To achieve the MDG target by 2015, we must achieve a (infant mortality) rate of 4.4 per 1,000 live births,” as reported by the Director General of Health, Malaysia.

Dr Roland Chia wishes to know what are the immediate steps that will be taken by the Ministry of Health concern to address this acute problem. This problem should not arise since Sabah has the 1st Womens’ and Child Hospital in the country in Likas and a medical school in UMS to conduct in depth research and immediate remedial efforts to solve this problem.

The Rakyat wants answers and solutions and not problems and grim statistics like this. The Core business of the government is to administer the state for the betterment of the welfare of the rakyat.