Topic: Reducing Infant Mortality
Country: United States
Delegate Name: Timothy Lee
School: Fishers High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All United States position papers GLIMUN 2015 committees
The United States of America believes that infant mortality is not just an American problem, but a global problem as well. Infant mortality is a problem that every country, both developed and developing, should strive to resolve. Despite having one of the strongest economies in the world, the United States of America still has one of the worst infant mortality rates in the developed world (5.87 deaths out of 1000). According to the National Center for Health Statistics, “Just under six out of every 1,000 babies died at birth or in the first year of life in the U.S. in 2013, triple the rate of Japan or Norway and double the rate of Ireland, Israel or Italy. The rate is barely changed from 2012, although it's down 13 percent from 2005.”
Even with countries such as Germany and Iceland having very low infant mortality rates, the United States of America believes that no child, regardless of race, gender, religion, or country, should have to face death at such an early age. It is cruel and unfair that children have their lives taken away when they have experienced so little of life. The United States of America believes that the best way to reduce infant mortality, and possibly even removing it entirely, is to aid and fund already existing humanitarian and medical programs, establish more hospitals and medical centers in both developed and developing nations, and provide sex education for the public.
The United States of America is aware that humanitarian programs such as UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, and the World Health Organization itself, have helped developing countries such as India and Chad to reduce their infant mortality rate. That is why the United States of America believes that if the United Nations funded and greatly supported theses humanitarian programs, infant mortality can be reduced at an even faster rate than the rate today.
An insufficient number of hospitals, medical centers, doctors, and nurses is one of the main reasons why infant mortality is still a global issue. The United States of America believes that the reason why infant mortality is so high in developing countries such as Afghanistan and Mali, whom have an infant mortality rate of over 100 over 1000 infants, is due to the lack of medical centers, staff, and supplies. Even in developed countries, there is lack of these medical necessities in impoverished and poor communities. The United States of America believes that if the United Nations can convince all the countries to build a hospital in every urban and rural community with the sufficient number of doctors, nurses, and medical supplies, parents in these communities will have the opportunity to keep their children healthy and fit. However, if there is ever a situation where people in community or village do not have access to a hospital or medical center, there should be at least one professional and trained doctor and nurse in each community in public buildings such as schools and religious buildings. That way, those who do not have access to a hospital still have a medical official to look towards to and still receive the same treatment for their infants as those who have access to a hospital.
The United States of America also believes that these doctors and nurse should educate the public in sex education. Breastfeeding is one of the best ways to ensure that infants remain strong, healthy, and fit, and has much more nutritional value than formulas, or any other substitutes. However, many women who have their first child do not know how to breastfeed and breastfeeding incorrectly could harm, or even kill the baby. That is why the United States of America believes that it is important that doctors and nurses teach the public how to breastfeed, how to care for the baby before, and after birth, along with supplying nutrients for the mother during breastfeeding, nutrients for the baby itself after birth, and any other services the mother or baby might need.
