Water, Sanitation, and Birth Registration

The lack of improved drinking water and adequate sanitation continue to cause high childhood (under 5-years old) mortality.  One out of five children die before reaching their fifth birthday.  Ironically, the rate may be more since, two out of three children (under 5-years old) were not registered. 

UNICEF - Congo, Democratic Republic of the - Results of 'Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey' released.

Among the worrying tendencies are the degradation of birth registration and the stagnation in the use of improved drinking water sources and improved sanitation facilities.

Still today, only one in seven people in DR Congo lives in acceptable hygienic conditions and less than half of the population has access to safe drinking water.

Two out of three children under five do not have a birth certificate, a situation that has worsened over the past decade. Indeed, while 34 percent of the country’s children under five were registered in 2000, this figure dropped to 28 per cent in 2010.

Comments

[Dsashin]

Hi Woody,
My name is Daphne and I'm a producer with CNN iReport, the citizen journalism section of CNN.com. I came across your blog and wanted to reach out. We are doing a project to get photos or videos from every country in the world and we are down to 6 -- including the RC. I wondered if you've taken any photos that you would consider sharing? You would retain rights to your work, and if they are used on CNN or CNN.com, you are credited by full name.

Here is the link to upload: http://on.cnn.com/b5Fc13. You just have to click on “Share Your Story” button.

Feel free to email me at [email protected].

Thanks,
Daphne