Low infant mortality in Malta

Infant mortality rates in Malta are among the lowest worldwide, the Medical Association of Malta (MAM) said in a statement.

MAM said data by the World Health Organisation placed Malta at the head of the European Union list.

And the Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book 2005 listed Malta as the eighth in the world, bettered only by Singapore, Sweden, Hong Kong, Japan, Iceland, Finland and Norway in that order.

Child mortality in Malta is around 6/1,000. The MAM said this was a remarkable achievement that Malta should be proud of. "One must note that these figures are even better than they appear at first glance. In Malta therapeutic abortion (termination of pregnancies with malformed babies) is not practiced. Indeed, most of neonatal deaths in Malta occur in severely malformed babies, most of whom would have been aborted in other countries and they would not have been included in infant mortality statistics.

"These results are a tribute to the dedication and expertise of family doctors and doctors working in the specialty of paediatrics," the association said.