7
4
Conclusion
be used to guide public-health policies and programmes.
Also, a boost in the coverage of our health insurance
scheme would be a step in the right direction.
Infectious diseases are still the major causes of morbid-
ity and mortality especially in under-fives in our local-
ity. Achievement of the millennium development goal of
reducing child mortality by two-thirds from the 1990
rate will depend on renewed efforts to prevent and con-
trol malaria, acute respiratory infections and diarrhoea in
the Africa region. The role of environmental sanitation,
health education and good nutrition in the health of the
child must be brought to the fore. Vaccination against
infectious organisms like Haemophilus influenzae and
Streptococcus pneumoniae which are major causes of
pneumonia and meningitis in childhood should be intro-
duced into the nation's immunization schedule as part of
the NPI. The reports of the causes of child morbidity
and deaths should
Conflict of interest: none
Funding: none
Acknowledgement
We acknowledge the assistance of doctors and medical
students in the Paediatric Emergency Unit of the Depart-
ment of Child Health, UBTH, in data collation. We are
also grateful to the record officers of the unit for their
assistance in retrieving the relevant records.
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