Infant and Child Mortality Rate: Situation and Trends

Mozambique has the potential to achieve its 2015 targets for infant mortality (67/1,000 live births) and under-five mortality (108/1,000 live births).In the last few decades, the country has seen a continuous reduction of the neonatal, infant and child mortality rates. However, the speed of its decrease has been recently lower than in previous periods.

The Infant Mortality Rate decreased from 143.7/1,000 live births in 1997 (Censo 1997) to 93/1,000 in live births in 2008 (Censo 2007).
The Child Mortality Rate or Under-Five Mortality Rate decreased between 1997 and 2003 from 245.3 to 154/1,000 live births, and to 138/1,000 live births in 2008.
The reduction has been more significant in the rural than in urban areas.
The disparities between the provinces persist, with Cabo Delgado and Zambézia having on average the highest mortality rates, 180/1,000 and 205/1,000 live births respectively. The lowest child mortality rates occur in Maputo City (108/1,000) and Maputo Province (103/1,000 live births).
Concerning the Child Mortality Rate by area of residence, the data show a larger number of deaths in the rural areas than in the urban areas.
The infant mortality rate by province shows that Zambézia (147.1) and Cabo Delgado (131.7) have the highest infant mortality rates at national level.
The infant mortality rate according to wealth quintiles indicates that the lowest quintile has less infant deaths (116.3/1,000) than the middle one (118.9/1,000). The highest wealth quintile has the lowest infant mortality rate (74/1,000 live births).

Source: Report on the Millennium Development Goals - Mozambique 2010

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