Millennium Health Goals

Amanda Nilsen

American Sentinel University

Millennium Health Goals

This paper discusses Millennium Development Goal 4, which seeks to reduce child mortality. This health goal is highly critical because it helps in ensuring that children have better health status, which enables them to live properly. Therefore, the goal targets to provide a framework for reducing the under-five mortality rate by two thirds. This takes place between 1990 and 2015 (WHO, 2102).

The goal is highly crucial in the health of a nation. The continuity of generations takes place when children grow to become adults as others are born. When these children grow, they are able to provide the workforce needed by a country to drive economic development. In this regard, a country must have high levels of concern about its children. It is prudent to note that a country cannot exist if it lacks adequate labor to perform various activities. The available workforce cannot be there forever. Therefore, a continuous replacement takes place as different generations emerge. The replacement process begins from childbirth. This implies that child mortality impedes realization of appropriate and adequate replacement. On the other hand, the survival of children makes it useful to have a pool of individuals with diverse talents that a nation can utilize to ensure effective and efficient development processes.

This goal has resulted in immense positive benefits to my community. It has helped reduce mortality rates, which previously were high. According to the World Health Organization figures, the probability of a child dying under the age of five in the United States is eight per a thousand live births (WHO, 2013). This shows minimal mortality rates. Because of this, the country has a male/female life expectancy of 76/81 at birth (WHO, 2013). This shows that the country has a healthy future because of the potential to have productive population, which will be useful in sustaining the growth of the country.

The strategy includes advocating for proper nutrition and feeding programs for children. Poor nutrition normally results in child mortalities. Therefore, through proper nutrition, it becomes essential to avert many opportunist illnesses that affect children due to malnutrition (Wagstaff et al., 2006).

Another strategy is to ensure that children receive immunization. Increasing the levels of immunization coverage helps in reducing mortality rates because the process helps in raising the immune system of children in relation to various diseases such as measles.

Economic reforms are also part of the strategies to ensure that this goal succeeds. It is crucial to note that unequal economy creates a big gap between the rich and the low class populations. This also results in disparities in acquisition of healthcare services (Gupta, Wit & McKeown, 2007). Therefore, there is an ongoing economic reform to help in bridging the gap between the rich and the poor. This helps in enhancing ease of access to various services including healthcare services. This helps parents to provide effective healthcare to their children thereby reducing mortality.

The country’s department of health has the duty of undertaking proactive initiatives that help in monitoring the situation. This involves a team of pediatricians and other health experts. They carry out periodic assessments of the situation based on data gathered from health institutions.

The measurement used in assessing the progress of this goal entails collecting data on child mortality at certain intervals. The team determines the change by calculating the rate as a percentage of the number realized at a certain