Harare — THE standard of living for women and children in Zimbabwe has deteriorated significantly in the past four years, a recent Govenment study has shown.

The study attributed this development to failure to access requisite medical facilities.

The Multiple Indicator and Monitoring Survey preliminary results released in Harare yesterday, showed that there was a 20 percent increase in the mortality rate for children under five years since 1990, the baseline year for the Millennium Development Goals.

Most affected are children and the poorest 20 percent of the population being the most vulnerable with the major causes of death being HIV and Aids, new-born disorders, pneumonia and diarrhoea.

Speaking at the launch of the MIMS preliminary results, Health and Child Welfare Deputy Minister Douglas Mombeshora, said the release of the data came after the signing of the Global Political Agreement

The data would serve as a benchmark for planning, monitoring and evaluating Government's agenda.

Deputy Minister Mombeshora said challenges faced in the country affected the production of scheduled statistics that were vital for crafting programmes for pulling the country out of the difficulties being faced.

"The data, therefore, fills the information vacuum on the living standards of the population and provides a pointer to necessary changes to meet the targets of the MDGs by 2015 as well as the targets of other national programmes," he said.

The survey -- which was conducted in May this year -- indicated that the increased deaths were mainly due to acute respiratory disorders and malaria, with a rise in under five mortality from 82 per 1 000 live births in 2005 to 94 per 1 000 live births in 2009.

The survey also showed that one in two pregnant women in rural areas were delivering at home and 39 percent were not accessing requisite medical facilities for delivery, while 40 percent were not attended to at birth by skilled medical personnel.

The study conducted with technical assistance from Unicef, revealed that there were disparities between the rich and poor with the latter hardest hit.

The data also revealed that there was limited support to the country's orphaned and vulnerable children, with 79 percent not receiving any form of external assistance.

Unicef country representative Dr Peter Salama said the MIMS data underscored the deterioration that had occurred in the social sectors in the last few years and the tragic consequences.

"Today and everyday in Zimbabwe 100 children below five years are dying of mostly preventable diseases," he said.

Dr Salama said the MIMS results provided a powerful statistical testimony on the current state of women and children in Zimbabwe.

"It will assist the inclusive Government and its partners in determining the priorities for action," he said.

The MIMS is designed to obtain strategic information relevant for policymakers to prioritise women and children and monitor Zimbabwe's progress in the implementation of international priorities such as the MDGs.

The information was extracted from 12 500 households including women and children throughout the country.

Zimbabwe has been under economic sanctions imposed by the Britain and its European Union and other western allies for a decade now.

The embargo has severely hamstrung all facets of the economy and the social services sector particularly education and health.