Harare - The health of Zimbabwe's children and women, particularly in the poorer parts of the country has worsened sharply, with 100 children under five dying of mostly preventable diseases each day, the United Nations said Tuesday. A survey carried out jointly with the Zimbabwe Health Ministry since May also revealed the mortality rate of children under five had increased by 20 per cent since 1990, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement.
Zimbabwe's health, education and other basic systems went into freefall during the latter years of autocratic President Robert Mugabe's 28-year monopolistic rule.
At the height of the economic crisis, inflation hit 500 billion per cent, the country suffered the worst cholera epidemic in Africa in 15 years and famine stalked millions.
The result of the survey "underscores the deterioration that has occurred in the social sectors in the last few years and the tragic consequences that have resulted," said UNICEF Harare representative Dr Peter Salama.
Observers say Mugabe's disastrous policies, particularly the seizure by his supporters of thousands of commercial farms, almost completely unravelled the dramatic health reforms his government initiated when he came to power in 1980.
Salama said the major causes of deaths among children under five were HIV/AIDS, newborn disorders, pneumonia and diarrhoea. The survey also showed that half of pregnant women in rural areas were now delivering at home, with 40 per cent of them giving birth without any skilled assistance.
Hundreds of rural clinics that used to attend to pregnant women have shut down or are devoid of basic drugs or equipment.
The survey also found said that 80 per cent of orphaned or "vulnerable" children received no form of institutional assistance, while two out of three of children did not have birth certificates.
The economy and the health sector have picked up slightly since the inauguration in February of a power-sharing government led by Mugabe and former opposition leader, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
