Missionaries of the Sacred

Child Mortality

A major U. N. Millennium goal is the elimination of child mortality. Its objective is to reduce the under-five mortality rate by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015.¹ While the child mortality rate has been declining in many countries,² it remains an issue of social concern. The United States, e.g., has a children mortality rate of 6.8 of 1000 children under age 5.³ The problem of child mortality often stems from the lack of proper prenatal care for mothers as well as the absence of necessary health services for the child after birth.

The welfare of children is an essential part of the praxis of Christian faith. In a culture of life, caring for children is an expression of love and respect for their inviolable dignity and worth. While this is true for all children, it “becomes all the more urgent the smaller the child is and the more it is in need of everything, when it is sick, suffering or handicapped.”⁴ Christians, therefore, need to ensure that our young children in their early years of life receive essential health care in order to fully develop physically and mentally as God’s children.