ID :
177628
Mon, 04/25/2011 - 05:16
Auther :

KARAWANG GEARING UP TO CUT INFANT MORTALITY RATE

Karawang, W Java, April 25 (ANTARA) - Karawang district in West Java is gearing up to lower infant mortality rate by 15 percent this year.

"To achieve the target, we are making every effort to provide midwives and doctors with various kinds of training," Karawang deputy district head Cellica Nurrachadiana said.

Only by lowering the infant mortality rate could the local government improve its human development index (HDI), Cellica said.

A decline in infant mortality rate was one of the indicators of improved HDI, she said.

Data from the local health service show the district last year saw a total of 191 infant mortality cases mostly caused by respiratory disorder affecting newborns.

According to the Human Development Report of 2010, 31 out of every 1,000 newborns died in Indonesia. The figure was 5.2 times higher than that of Malaysia and 1.2 times higher than that of the Philippines.

In view of that, she added lowering infant mortality rate was high on the list of the district`s development priorities.

She said the training was particularly intended to enable the midwives and doctors to know well about the causes of infant mortality cases.

(KR-MAK/S012/A/HAJM/B)

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