THE EDITOR: Can you ask why the successive government's conveniently forget about past infant deaths under their watch?
Please check the CSO data and rates. https://cso.gov.tt/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/TT-Demographic-Profile-2005-2021.xlsx.xlsx
Every Government before tends to improve and reduce infant deaths. This is expected and is a worldwide trend.
The following information is from the Central Statistical Office and is calculated from the deaths that occur in infants below 1 year of age. It is for the period 2005-2018 and roughly is divided into different periods of changes in political parties.
2005 266
2006 237
2007 225
2008 263
2009 275
Total 1266, Average 253 annual
2010 257
2011 253
2012 214
2013 237
2014 218
2015 181
Total =1360 infant deaths, Average 227 annual
2016 224
2017 191
2018 172
No data published yet after 2018
Total = 587, Average 196 annual
So instead of playing politics and accusing each other of killing more infants, they need to work together to find sustainable solutions to ensure a bright future for generations to come.
Regardless of which political party is at the helm, some deaths are expected to occur especially in these very premature babies who weren't ready to survive on the outside. The politicians need to build on each previous Government's improvements in order to reduce avoidable deaths especially in full term babies.
SHAMILLA DASS
Tunapuna
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