Scouts project boosts prospects for healthier mothers and babies in the Dominican Republic.

Thousands of mothers die each year from preventable pregnancy-related causes in the Dominican Republic. The countrys maternal mortality rate of 110 per 100000 live births is among the highest in the Western Hemisphere. Of equal concern to health officials are the high numbers of children who die needlessly from treatable illnesses during their first year of life. Estimates provided by the Latin American Demographic Center and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean project a rate of 33.6 infant deaths per 1000 lives births for the period of 1995- 2000. While public health authorities concede that this number represents a significant reduction from the previous five-year period (47 per 1000) it nonetheless falls short of the hoped-for target of 25 per 1000 set for the end of the year 2000. Improving the chances for survival of mothers and their children has been the number-one priority of the Dominican Health Secretariat since 1997. It was then that health officials launched the "National Mobilization to Reduce Infant and Maternal Mortality" initiative with the goal of increasing access to health care and improving the quality of health services for this group. At the same time the Secretariat called on the active participation of community organizations throughout the nation to help address this health issue. (authors)