Under-five mortality rate was 80 per 1,000 live births in the world (87 in developing countries, and 6 in industrialized countries) in 2003. The number of children under-five who died in 2003 worldwide was 10.6 million. Most of these deaths could have been prevented. Poverty is the root cause of high rates of child mortality and morbidity. One billion children - more than half the children in developing countries – are living in poverty. One in five children in the developing world does not have access to safe water, and one in seven has no access whatsoever to essential health services. More than one in three children do not have adequate shelter, over 16% of children under five lack adequate nutrition, and 13% of all children have never been to school. As wars proliferate – and civilians become their main casualties - millions of children are growing up in families and communities torn apart by armed conflict. Many have been forced on to the front lines. Since 1990, conflicts have directly killed as many as 1.6 million children. Hundreds of thousands of children are caught up in conflict as soldiers; many are forced to become refugees or internally displaced persons, suffer sexual violence, abuse and exploitation, or are victims of explosive remnants of war. As the poverty and armed conflicts persist in the world, reducing the number of child deaths seems impossible. The child health status in Turkey is also poor compared to the developed countries. During the five-year period before the Turkish Demographic and Health Survey 2003, 29 of 1,000 infants born did not survive to their first birthday. Almost two out of five infant deaths occurred during the first four weeks of life. Under-five mortality in the same year was 37 per 1,000 births. Infant and child mortality rates are higher than the national average in the North and East regions, especially in rural areas. The percentage of 12-23 month-old children fully immunized was 54% in 2003; only 3% have not received any vaccination. Currently, almost one-quarter of children who receive the first doses of DPT and polio vaccines do not complete the three-dose regimen. Four in five deliveries are assisted by a doctor or a trained midwife/nurse; however, home deliveries constitute one-fifth of the births. Although acute malnutrition is not a problem, with less than 1% of children wasted (thin for their height), one in eight children under age five is stunted (short for their age).

Keywords: Child health