Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Maternal mortality rate drops to 20.2 per cent

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MUSCAT: The maternal mortality rate fell to 20.2 per cent (100,000 live births) in the Sultanate in 2017 as against 26.4 in 2010, a Ministry of Health report has said.


According to the report, the Sultanate achieved qualitative achievements in various health aspects due to the government’s commitment to offer health services all over the country.


The report said international organisations have hailed the rapid growth of health facilities in the country as well as the efforts exerted to scale down the child mortality rates in the 1980s and 1990s.


In the last two decades, infant mortality rate has seen a noticeable decrease.


The mortality rate stood at 2.9 per 1,000 population during (1972-2017) and an increase in life expectancy from 49.3 years to 76.9 years.


The report, which coincides with the country’s Blessed Renaissance Day, said that control of infectious diseases and childhood fatal diseases has helped in reducing the mortality rate.


The strategies adopted by the government have freed the Sultanate from perilous diseases such as polio, diphtheria and tetanus in the past two decades, while there were no measles cases reported in the past two years.


According to MoH, cases of viral hepatitis decreased by 68 per cent compared with 2005.


Malaria was controlled as one in three individuals were infected with malaria in 1975. A total of 241,431 cases were reported.


Due to the preventive and control procedures taken by MoH, the number of cases decreased to 33,000 in 1990.


In the field of maternal health and provision of maternal care services, the rate of early care registration stood at 73.3 per cent. Only less than one per cent of mothers who gave birth were not among registered mothers.


The government’s commitment to its wise policy have led to comprehensive health services. Primary healthcare is provided to people from all sections of society.


MoH has been developing visions of a long-term strategy to develop the health system in the country.


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