The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Mali recently released the final report for the 2006 Mali Demographic and Health Survey (EDSM-IV) in Bamako.  On the whole, results reported in the EDSM-IV are promising; however, there remain areas of little or no progress. Significant gains were made in rural areas for both maternal and child health. Immunization coverage of children ages 12 to 23 months increased markedly since 2001 as did women's use of antenatal care during pregnancy. The survey results show important reductions in morbidity and mortality but other areas, such as fertility and malnutrition rates, saw little change. 

 

Young adults' reproductive health is steadily improving in Ethiopia, but there is still much room for improvement, according to a new report released by the David and Lucille Packard Foundation.  Young men and women are waiting longer before having sex and getting married. According to the report, sexual activity among young men has dropped dramatically since 2000, when 44 percent had ever had sexual intercourse. By contrast, five years later, 23 percent of young men had had sex. Sexual activity among young women also decreased during that time while their use of contraception increased.

Across the developing world, women's knowledge of modern family planning methods is high, and use of modern methods is increasing, according to a new report analyzing data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). Contraceptive Trends in Developing Countries reviews recent survey results from 35 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. The report's findings verify that investments in family planning programs over the past decades have paid off and continue to help women and their families around the world.

Health care initiatives throughout the developing world should make greater efforts to reach the world's poor, suggests a new series of reports highlighting health inequalities in 56 low-income and middle-income countries. Worldwide, the health of the poor is notably worse than that of the better-off. On average, the poorest suffer under-five mortality and malnutrition rates that are about twice as much as the best-off. In some countries the difference is much greater. In Egypt, for example, children living in the poorest households are nearly three times as likely to die before age five as children in the best-off households. In South Africa, they are four times as likely to die early.

One out of five children in Angola has malaria, according to the 2006-07 Angola Malaria Indicator Survey (AMIS 2006-07). In addition, 14 percent of pregnant women tested positive for malaria.  Earlier today, the Ministry of Health released the AMIS final report in a ceremony in Luanda. The nationally representative survey is based on interviews with over 2,500 households and close to 3,000 women ages 15 to 49.