Infant and Child Survival in Developing Nations

Running head: INFANT AND CHILD SURVIVAL IN DEVELOPING NATIONS
Socio-economic, medical, public health and nutritional factors have played important roles in
the improvement of infant and child survival in developing countries
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1INFANT AND CHILD SURVIVAL IN DEVELOPING NATIONS
Introduction
The population of the world is increasing at an alarming rate and as a matter of fact
the total population of the world currently is more than 7.6 billion (Unicef.org 2018). The
population of the world is expected to increase in a substantial manner in the coming years.
The current growth rate of the population of the world is 1.2%, the birth rate is 2.51 per year
and the death rate of the world is only 1.09% per year (Unicef.org 2018). This can be
attributed as one of the major reasons for the unprecedented rate of growth of the world
population. An interesting fact to note is that the infant mortality rate in the majority of the
developed nations is 1 in 1000 children whereas for the developing nations is it is more than
6 in every 1000 children (World Health Organization 2018). The high infant mortality rate in
the various developing nations can be attributed to the various diseases, inadequate treatment
facilities which are available to the children, the low income of the parents and others
(Health.gov.il 2018). Furthermore, it can be said that the infant mortality rate has changed
drastically in the various developing nations substantially over the years yet it is not on par
with the ones of the various developed nations of the world (Global Citizen 2018). Socio-
economic, medical, public health and nutritional factors have played important roles in the
improvement of infant and child survival in developing countries and this has contributed in a
significant manner to reduce the infant mortality rate. This essay will discuss about the fact
that “Socio-economic, medical, public health and nutritional factors have played important
roles in the improvement of infant and child survival in developing countries”.
Infant Mortality Rate
The population of the world at the current moment is ageing and this has emerged as
one of the major causes of worry for the various nations of the world like China and others
where it is seen that the majority of the citizens belong to the wrong side of the age (Cdc.gov

2INFANT AND CHILD SURVIVAL IN DEVELOPING NATIONS
2018). This can have severe repercussions for these nations since the major economic and
other kinds of growth of a particular nation is directly related to its population and more
specifically to the people who belong to the younger age brackets (Liu et al. 2015). It is
precisely here that the concept of infant mortality rate gains special prominence and has
become a major cause of worry for the various nations of the world. The concept of infant
mortality rate can be defined as the number of infants as well as children who die during the
initial phases of their lives and is generally measured in terms of the 1000 number of children
who are taking birth and out of them the number of children who dies (Arceo, Hanna and
Oliva 2016).
Figure 1: Infant Mortality Rate of the world
Source: World Bank 2018

3INFANT AND CHILD SURVIVAL IN DEVELOPING NATIONS
The statistical information regarding the infant death rate presents a gloomy picture
when a comparison between the infant mortality rates of the developing and the developed
nations is undertaken. It is pertinent to note that every year more than 5 or 6 more children
end up dying in the developing nations in comparison to the developed nations (Abel-Smith
2016). However, at the same time, it needs to be said that the condition has much improved in
the recent years because of the access to better kind of treatment facilities and other kinds of
resources in the developing nations yet there is a much need for improvement (Freedman and
Maine 2018). This improvement can be brought about through the improvement of the socio-
economic, medical, nutritional factors and public health services (Madhi et al. 2016).
Norheim et al. (2015) hold the viewpoint that the drastic improvement in the infant mortality
rate in the development nations in the recent times can be attributed to the effective
integration of all these factors.
Figure 2: Primary causes for the deaths of the infants
Source: World Health Organization 2018