Brunei attains UN's goal to reduce child mortality

Nurhamiza Hj Roslan
BRUNEI-MUARA

BRUNEI Darussalam has achieved the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goal 4 that is related to health on reducing child mortality, according to the Minister of Health (MoH).

Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Johan Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Adanan Begawan Pehin Siraja Khatib Dato Seri Setia Hj Md Yusof mentioned the above achievement at the opening of the Seventh Conference of the ASEAN Society of Paediatric Surgery (ASPS) yesterday.

The Sultanate achieved the health goal following the requirements of universal health coverage with key interventions.

These key interventions are not only effective but also affordable, accessible and equitable such as care for newborns and their mothers, infant and young child feeding, vaccines, prevention and case management of pneumonia, diarrhoea and sepsis, malaria control and prevention and care of HIV/AIDS, said YB Pehin Dato Hj Adanan.

This led to results showing significant reduction in child mortality rates over last few decades, which is evident from the latest child health indicators or mortality statistics of Brunei Darussalam,added the Minister.

As further proof, he then cited a statistic that in 2011, the Sultanate's record of infant mortality rate was at 8.3 per 1,000 live birth. A significant comparison to 40 year ago where it stood at 38.4 per 1,000 live births.

However, YB Pehin Dato Hj Adanan also stressed out that "Brunei Darussalam will not be complacent" in reference to the achievement. "We will continue to further strive in reducing the mortality rates for our children even though many challenges remain ahead. Our children are our future generation and our most-treasured assets. Healthier children means more productive and better future for our nation," added the Minister.

To aid in combating the challenges, YB Pehin Dato Hj Adanan then spoke of the latest investments in healthcare infrastructure and medical equipment by the government. One of which is the new block for Women and Children which is under construction at the Raja Isteri Pg Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital and expected to be completed by April 2014.

He also added that the "focus of the new building is to improve and enhance the facilities provided for those services requiring more specialized and technology-intensive care."

This will also lead to "a further improvement and up-scaling in the provision of secondary and tertiary healthcare to the women and children in Brunei Darussalam."

He then highlighted the current challenges that the ministry forsees with the new building. "The challenge is now to ensure sustainability with adequate human resources in all posts and specialties, especially so in Paediatrics and Neo-natology as well as in Obsterics and Gynaecology," said YB Pehin Dato Hj Adanan.

A way of overcoming the limited human resources, the Ministry of Health will have to optimise the health care workers by ensuring they are well trained and rightly skilled in order to provide the services effectively and of high quality, added the minister.

The minister also associates Brunei's current situation with the theme of the ASPS conference: "Dealing with Congenital Anomalies" as very relevant.

According to him, congenital anomalies has consistently been the top two causes of death for Bruneian children under the age of five-years-old over the past five years.

However, the Minister also expressed gratitude that more than 99 per cent of pregnant women in the Sultanate receive their antenatal care with most congenital anomalies detected either antenatally or soon after birth.

Finally, he expressed hopes that lessons learned and experiences gained through the conference would add value and contribute to facilitate relentless efforts to reduce deaths amongst infants and young children due to congenital anomalies especially in Brunei Darussalam.

The Seventh Conference of ASPS 2012 opened yesterday at The Core, Universiti Brunei Darussalam. The two-day conference is the first paediatric surgical meeting held in Brunei Darussalam. It gathers international experts from surgical specialties.

Dipetik dari - The Brunei Times