Aspecte ale sănătăţii copiilor din România –realităţi şi deziderate [Children’s Health Issues in Romania – Present and Expectations]

Infant mortality is the most sensitive indicator for the health status of child population, being also a global parameter for economical and social development as well. Despite its slow decreasing, this indicator maintains Romania on the last place in Europe (11%o). The main causes of infant mortality are perinatal diseases, respiratory diseases and malformations. There is a strong relationship between the infant mortality and the low weight at birth, due to health and nutrition problems of the pregnant women. The mortality under 1 year is higher in rural areas (14%o) and among children belonging to mothers with a low educational level. High-rate for the deaths at home due to respiratory diseases indicates the lack of parental skills and the failure of primary care as well. Specialized medical services are not able to provide surgical solutions for all congenital heart diseases. In order to improve the children health, the investment in early childhood is needed. This is the key for the development of humanity, because it is based on the development of a sustainable resource witch is the human capital. To improve children health condition is necessary a mean-term strategy, coherent and wide-open, versus only narrow individual interventions.



Keywords: early childhood development, infant mortality, children at risk, national health programs