Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2013 - Progress in reducing child & maternal mortality

Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2013Progress in reducing child & maternal mortality
Dear Dr Salazar Castellon,

Two new studies published today by The Lancet look at the progress of UN Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 on lowering child and maternal death rates in developing countries.

These are the first papers in the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013), a systematic effort to describe the global distribution and causes of a wide array of major diseases, injuries, and health risk factors.

Articles

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Global, regional, and national levels of neonatal, infant and under-5 mortality 1990-2013: a systematic analysis

UNDER 5 MORTALITY




Key findings:
Between 1970 and 2013, there was a significant reduction in under-5 mortality rates, albeit with significant regional variations 

• Between 1970 and 2013, there was a 64.3% reduction in global under-5 deaths.
• However, regional variations continue to occur. Child deaths are as a high as 152.5 per 1000 in Guinea-Bissau versus 2.3 per 1000 in Singapore in 2013.
• Rates of child death have reduced faster from 2000 to 2013 - compared to the decade from 1990 - in 99 of 188 countries.
• Some of these reductions in child mortality rates can be attributed to rising income per capita and maternal education.

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Global, regional, and national levels and causes of maternal mortality, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013

MATERNAL MORTALITY 
Key findings:

The global maternal death rate fell between 1990 and 2013, though some regions saw increases during the same period 

• The global number of maternal deaths per annum fell from 376,000 in 1990 to 293,000 in 2013. 
• However, there were regional variations in the rate of progress. South, East and Southeast Asia showed consistent decreases in death rates, whereas maternal deaths actually increased in much of sub-Saharan Africa during the 1990s. 
• Maternal mortality rates were highest in the South Sudan and the lowest in Iceland. 
• Causes of death also varied widely by region. They included a combination of medical complications of pregnancy (other direct causes), haemorrhage, and abortion in lower income regions. Deaths from haemorrhage, sepsis, obstructed labor and hypertension have decreased dramatically since 1990.

We hope you find these articles both interesting and informative.

Yours sincerely,

The Lancet