Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 273 KEY FACTS Joined Commonwealth: 1968 Population: 1,250,000 (2013) GDP p.c. growth: 0.8% p.a. 1990–2013 GNI p.c.: US$3,080 (2013) UN HDI 2014: World ranking 148 Life expectancy: 49 years (2013) Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births): 80 (2013) Largest contribution to mortality: HIV/AIDS Government health expenditure: 6.3% of GDP (2012) General information The Kingdom of Swaziland is a small landlocked country in the east of Southern Africa, bounded to the east by Mozambique and elsewhere by South Africa. The country comprises four regions: Hhohho (in the north), Manzini (west-central), Lubombo (east) and Shiselweni (south). Climate: The Highveld is near-temperate and humid, the Middleveld and Lubombo subtropical, the Lowveld near-tropical. Swaziland is one of the best-watered countries in southern Africa, although, in common with the rear of the region, rainfall may be unreliable and periods of drought occur in the Lowveld, for example in 2004–05. Summer (October–March) is the rainy season. There is occasional, short-lived frost in the Highveld and the Middleveld. Environment: The most significant environmental issues are overgrazing, soil degradation, soil erosion, limited supplies of drinking water and depletion of wildlife populations by excessive hunting. Population: 1,250,000 (2013); 21 per cent of people live in urban areas. The population growth rate stood at 1.6 per cent p.a. between the years of 1990 and 2013. In 2013 the birth rate was 30 per 1,000 people (49 in 1970) and life expectancy was 49 years, having fallen sharply since the late 1990s due to AIDS (61 in 1990 and 60 in 1997). Swazis make up 90 per cent of the population; people of other African, European or mixed descent make up ten per cent. Large numbers of Mozambicans fled to Swaziland to escape the civil war, but repatriation was completed in 1993. Economy: Swaziland is classified as a lower-middle-income economy by the World Bank. Health Child and maternal health: Infant mortality in Swaziland was 56 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013, with an under-five mortality rate of 80 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013. There has been a decline in the under-five mortality rate since 2005. Prior to this, the under-five mortality rate increased from approximately 83 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 128 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2003. Although the recent improvement is encouraging, the underfive mortality rate is not yet in line with the country’s target of 28 deaths per 1,000 live births as defined by Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4). In 2012 the three most prominent causes of death for children below the age of five years were HIV (15 per cent), acute respiratory infections (15 per cent) and prematurity (14 per cent). Other contributory causes were intrapartum-related complications (12 per cent), diarrhoea (nine per cent), neonatal sepsis (seven per cent), and congenital anomalies and injuries (both six per cent). In 2013 Swaziland had an adjusted maternal mortality ratio of 310 deaths per 100,000 live births (this figure was estimated at 320 deaths per 100,000 by UN agencies/World Bank in 2010). Burden of disease: Communicable diseases along with maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions in Swaziland accounted for an estimated 63 per cent of all mortality in 2012. The prevalence of HIV in Swaziland, as a percentage of the population aged 15–49 years, stood at 27.4 per cent in 2012. HIV prevalence increased consistently in the period 1990–2005, following which the figures Swaziland
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above