Niger - Health



In the 1990s, there were three physicians per 100,000 people. In addition there were 38 medical centers and 198 dispensaries throughout the country. As of 1999, it was estimated that there were fewer than 0.05 physicians per 1,000 people, and 0.1 hospital beds. In the same year, total health care expenditure was estimated at 2.6% of GDP. In 2000, 59% of the population had access to safe drinking water and only 20% had adequate sanitation.

In 1997, immunization rates for children up to one year old included: diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 28%, and measles, 42%. In 1999, there were 252 reported cases of tuberculosis per 100,000 inhabitants. About 40% of children under five years old are considered malnourished. The goiter rate was 35.8 per 100 school-age children in 1996.

As of 2002, the crude birth rate and overall mortality rate were estimated at, respectively, 50 and 4.8 per 1,000 people. In 2000, only 8% of married women (ages 15 to 49) used contraception and the fertility rate was 7.2 children per woman during her childbearing years. The average life expectancy was 46 years and the infant mortality rate was 114 per 1,000 live births. Maternal mortality was 590 per 100,000 live births in 1998. Common diseases reported in Niger in 1995 were: measles (67,985 cases), guinea worm (13,821), leprosy (4,044), and deaths from diarrheal diseases (28,000). As of 2002, the estimated number of deaths from AIDS was 17,700. HIV prevalence was 1.35 per 100 adults. In Niger, 20% of women suffer from female genital mutilation. No government laws prohibit this procedure.

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