Submitted by crinadmin on
[JOHANNESBURG, 30 August 2006] - Alarming numbers of young children are dying in Angola four years after the southern African country's long-running civil war ended, said a report Wednesday by Doctors Without Borders (MSF). A study conducted by MSF in the municipality of Xa-Muteba in the northeastern province of Luanda Norte earlier this year found that an average of 2.8 of the 10,000 children under the age of five were dying every day. "The mortality for children under-five is almost three times higher than levels expected in developing countries and almost 50 percent above the emergency threshold of two per 10,000," said MSF in a statement at the launch of the report in neighbouring South Africa. Malaria, prevalent in much of sub-Saharan Africa, was the cause of more than half the deaths, said the report. MSF humanitarian affairs co-ordinator Hernan Del Valle said that the high child mortality rate in Xa-Muteba was "ironic" given that the area was rich in diamonds and should be a major source of wealth. "It's alarming," said Del Valle, adding that the high death rate could be attributed to poor funding of the health service. "The lack of healthcare that we see in places like Xa-Mubeta is difficult to explain for a country that is at peace and that has so much resources. "(Since the end of the war), we have seen little improvement in the area of health care. On the ground, we don't see the drugs coming, we don't see the staff coming." Angola's devastating 27-year war that ended in 2002 wreaked havoc on its infrastructure. As sub-Saharan Africa's second largest oil producer, it is currently enjoying an economic boom which shows little sign of raising overall living standards. As well as battling malaria, Angola is also at the centre of a cholera epidemic which has claimed more than 2,000 lives.