Better Care Saves 89,000 Afghani Kids This Year

For those of you that are wondering why Mitchieville supports our Canadian troops in Afghanistan, this article should clear that up rather nicely:

Close to 90,000 children who would have died before age 5 in Afghanistan during Taliban rule will stay alive this year because of advances in medical care in the country, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Sunday.

The under-5 child mortality rate in Afghanistan has declined from an estimated 257 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2001 to about 191 per 1,000 in 2006, the Ministry of Public Health said, relying on a new study by Johns Hopkins University.

The U.N. and aid agency Save the Children both hailed the advances in health care in Afghanistan.

"This is certainly very positive news," said the U.N. spokesman in Afghanistan, Adrian Edwards. "To come from such low life expectancy to see this improvement does appear to be an indication that the work on the health sector here is beginning to pay off."

That is excellent news. We have to give credit where credit is due, and it starts with the troops on the ground.

This is the last day to Vote Mitchieville as Canada's Best Blog--It takes All of Five Seconds to do