HC Deb 11 May 2004 vol 421 cc239-40W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the under five mortality rates for each of the 16 African countries covered by the Millennium Development Goal. [171679]

Hilary Benn

DFID's Public Service Agreement (PSA) sets objectives and interim targets to 2006 to help monitor progress in meeting the MDGs. The PSA focuses on key countries and the 16 key Sub-Saharan Africa countries are listed as follows with their associated under five child mortality rates (per 1000 live births) for 2001.

Under 5 Mortality rate (per 1,000 live births)
PSA Key Countries (Sub-Saharan Africa)
year 2001
Congo, Democratic Republic 205
Ethiopia 172
Ghana 100
Kenya 122
Lesotho 132
Malawi 183
Mozambique 197
Nigeria 183
Rwanda 183
Sierra Leone 316
South Africa 71
Sudan 107
Tanzania 165
Uganda 124
Zambia 202
Zimbabwe 123

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the change in the under five mortality rate has been since 1997 in countries receiving his Department's health care assistance in(a) Asia and (b) sub-Saharan Africa. [171686]

Hilary Benn

The following table gives the change in under-five mortality rates between 1995 and 2001 in our main partner countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. These are the countries listed in our Public Service Agreement. Data for 1997 is not available from standard international sources so the nearest available date, 1995, is provided instead.

Although progress has been mixed, many countries have seen improvements in under-five mortality rates. In Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nepal these improvements have been dramatic with reductions of a quarter or more over the six-year period. On average there has been more progress in Asia than Africa.

DFID provides assistance to the health sector through various different mechanisms. These include direct funding to the health sector and health projects, funding to the general government budget, and indirect funding to health related sectors and multi-lateral and Non-Government organisations. This makes it difficult to accurately identify all countries receiving our health care assistance, and our main partner countries are considered the most useful set for this purpose.

Under-5 mortality rate

Per 1,000 live births

Country 1995 2001 Percentage

difference

Asia
Bangladesh 1116 77 -34
Indonesia 66 45 -32
Nepal 120 91 -24
China 46 39 -15
Pakistan 125 109 -13
Vietnam 43 38 -12
India 104 93 -11
Afghanistan 257 257 0
Cambodia 120 138 15
Average 111 99 -11
Sub-Saharan Africa
Malawi 216 183 -15
Uganda 145 124 -14
Rwanda 210 183 -13
Ghana 112 100 -11
Mozambique 215 197 -8
Sudan 115 107 -7
Ethiopia 183 172 -6
Lesotho 140 132 -6
Nigeria 187 183 -2
Sierra Leone 317 316 0
Congo, Democratic. Republic. 205 205 0
Zambia 202 202 0
Tanzania 164 165 1
South Africa 65 71 9
Kenya 111 122 10
Zimbabwe 90 123 37
Average 167 162 -3
11993
Source:
World Development Indicators 2003

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