175,000 infants die every year

Out of the 1.5 million children born every year in Kenya, 175,000 die while still infants.

A large proportion of those who survive become malnourished with 30 per cent of them suffering from stunting, a form of chronic malnutrition which prevents them from achieving their full mental and physical development.

About 25 per cent of all child deaths happen in the first month of life. However, 90 per cent of all child deaths are preventable.

The underlying cause in two-thirds of the deaths is malnutrition, 24 per cent of children die as a result of conditions such as infections and breathing difficulty while 20 per cent die from pneumonia.

Seventeen per cent of deaths are due to diarrhoea, 15 per cent from HIV/Aids while 14 per cent from malaria.

According to the Government and Unicef, the children are dying because families do not have access to simple low-cost and highly effective interventions.

Interventions like exclusive breast-feeding, appropriate complementary feeding, administration of vitamin A every six months, deworming, continued feeding and increased fluid intake, prompt treatment of malaria and pneumonia and immunisation.

The deaths can be easily prevented with inexpensive and easily administered interventions.

The two ministries of Health are working with partners, including Unicef, to scale up the package of interventions to prevent child deaths.

They have started Malezi Bora –the child health and nutrition weeks conducted twice a year to reach mothers, children and families, and to sensitize families on the importance of antenatal care, delivery and postnatal care.