Child Mortality: Brunei Second-Lowest In Asean
By Sobrina Rosli

Bandar Seri Begawan - The probability of young children dying between birth and five years of age for every thousand live births in Brunei has dropped significantly since the 1970s from 78 to only nine in 2005.

The latest statistics from the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) for under-five child mortality ranked Brunei the second-lowest in Asean countries, with Singapore being the lowest.

The Unicef study was carried out among 191 countries, with Brunei placed 151 among them. According to Unicef's statistics, Brunei's under-five mortality rate was nine deaths per 1,000 live births in 2005.

Brunei is second to Singapore with three deaths per 1,000 live births recorded in 2005.

Malaysia has 12 under-five deaths per 1,000 live births.

Sierra Leone is at the top spot with the rate of 282 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2005.

Among the Asean countries in 2005 as stated in Unicef's statistics, Cambodia was in the 25th place with an under-five mortality rate of 143 deaths per 1,000 live births, followed by Myanmar with 105 under-five deaths per 1,000 live births and Lao People's Democratic Republic with 79 under-five deaths per 1,000 live births.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the under five mortality rate is a leading indicator of the level of child health and overall development in countries.

WHO defines the term as "probability of a child born in a specific year or period dying before reaching the age of five, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of that period Data sources are gathered from vital registration - the number of deaths by age and numbers of births and children in each age group, census and surveys.

WHO's statistics between 2000 and 2003 showed that the leading cause of death among children under-five in Brunei was neo-natal cases.

Among the other causes are diarrhoel diseases, pneumonia and injuries. The causes of 25 per cent of the deaths were not stated. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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