By Daily Nation
Children under the age of five in Africa are more likely to die due to a degraded environment and increasing population density, a report has shown.
Some of the key factors found to affect high child mortality rates include air pollution, unclean water, poor sanitation, large household sizes and environmental degradation.
According to the World Health Organisation, an estimated 5.6 million children under five years died in 2016 and in Sub-Saharan Africa, one in 13 children die before turning five.
The researchers analysed data to explain the correlation between increased child mortality, environmental degradation and the population density of all mainland countries across Africa. “Our research highlights there is a direct correlation between child deaths, population density and environmental degradation so they no longer have a reason to do so with this new evidence,” said paediatrician professor Peter Le Souëf from UWA’s Medical School. Read more>>
