KHUJAND, February 20, Asia-Plus — 101 babies under one-year-old died in the Sughd province last month, Asia-plus has learned at the Sughd health directorate.
A source at the health directorate noted that that those deaths were not linked to the ongoing energy crisis and “possible exposure.”
“48 of those babies affected by pathology in the perinatal life,” said the source, “24 others died of pneumonia and 29 babies died for other reasons.”
95 babies under one-year-old died in northern Tajikistan in January 2007.
In the meantime, according to the UN Flash Appeal for Tajikistan that was released on February 18, the electrical crisis has resulted in prolonged disruptions of electricity in more than 50 percent of health facilities in Sughd and Khatlon provinces and districts subordinate to the center (RRPs). Health care services have been severely affected by the lack of electricity.
Acute respiratory infections (ARI), particularly pneumonia are leading causes of infant and child mortality in Tajikistan. One third of all children in the country suffer from ARI annually, and they need appropriate case management. The latest statistics of the ministry of health (MoH) show that the incident of ARI for the last three months has almost doubled.
