Child mortality rates fall by 70 per cent in Oman

Muscat: Child mortality rates fell by 70 per cent between 1990 and 2015, according to national data.
"In terms of child mortality, we achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG), according to which the reduction should be by two-thirds, which means 70 per cent reduction in the same period from 1990 to 2015, that's in the last three decades.
"Factors which have helped with the decline of child mortality are easier access to health services, wide skilled doctors, occurrence of deliveries under supervision of birth attendants, availability of well equipped hospitals, and other such reasons," said Dr. Fatma Al Hinai, Director of Women and Child Health at the Ministry of Health.
Maternal mortality has also fallen by almost half in the same period.
"In the last three decades, from 1990 to 2015, maternal mortality was also reduced by 43 per cent," Dr. Al Hinai added.
She attributed birth spacing and a number of other factors for this decline, "Factors such as improvement in the health system, training of staff and medical workers with necessary skills, making health services available and accessible with 99 per cent antenatal coverage where all pregnant women are getting antenatal care have contributed to the decline in mortality.
"Other than that, 99 per cent of deliveries occur in hospitals, under the supervision of skilled birth attendants; this is also an important reason. Besides this, the increasing awareness of antenatal care and birth spacing together with a modern lifestyle are factors which have helped in the decline," Dr. Al Hinai added.
Dr. Al Hinai said this is from the national data from health institutes across the country.
She says that the ministry if trying to focus on spreading awareness on birth spacing, "we want to concentrate on birth spacing to further reduce maternal and child mortality, that is the focus. MoH is working to strengthen the birth spacing program by expanding contraceptive methods, and we have started to introduce the 'Implanon', which is a new method of contraception."
Despite these efforts and achievements, Dr. Al Hinai says that other sectors need to contribute to the Ministry of Health's efforts to get better results. "A Multisectoral collaboration is needed to increase birth spacing because it is not just our responsibility. More educational materials should be disseminated to the public through the media to create awareness of birth spacing."