Stemming decline in life expectancy

Life expectancy is a statistical measure that estimates the average number of years a person can expect to live. Generally, it is measured at birth.The 'Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics 2023' report published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Sunday (March 24) says that the average life expectancy in Bangladesh dropped to 72.3 years in 2023 compared to 2022 when it was 72.4 years. Interestingly, in 2021, too, the average life expectancy was72.3 years. The BBS study further reveals that mortality rate of children under one year was 25 per thousand in 2022. But last year (2023), it increased to 27. Worse yet, the death rate of newborns of age below one month has increased to 20 per thousand live births last year from 16 in 2022. Sadly,mortality rates of children both below one year and one month of age have seen a significant rise from what they were five years back at 21 and 15 respectively. Also, there is also no sign of improvement in the case of under-five children whose death rate has also risento 33 per thousand (2023) from 31 in 2022 and 28 five years ago.
Now, the question is, what went wrong between the years 2022 and 2023 that the nation saw a reverse trend in the life expectancy of the people? It is also not less worrying that child mortality figures have been on the rise in a sustained manner for so long. Admittedly, coronavirus pandemic that struck Bangladesh since March 2020 did leave its devastating impact on life and the fallout from it was evident later when the studies by the BBS were carried out. Meanwhile, researches in the advanced countries are coming up with ever new findings on the prolonged effects of coronavirus on human body and its immune system. So, these developments may have their reflections in the vital statistics of the period under review.
Since life expectancy has a direct relationship to child mortality, increased rates are sure to negatively influence overall life expectancy. Also, a higher number of deaths from some of the top ten non-communicable killer diseases including heart attack, brain haemorrhage, respiratory diseases, etc., did no doubt play their part in the decline in life expectancy. The head of the sample vital registration system (SVRS) of BBS also pointed out as such on the occasion of release of the survey report.
However, exactly why child mortality rate is on the rise still defies reason. Has primary healthcare including maternity healthcare, prenatal, antenatal and postnatal care worsened or become unaffordable? Rising cost of living attributable to unrestrained food price inflation is forcing the low-income segment of the population to skimp on food, especially nutrient-rich ones including meat leading to malnourished childbearing women. Most likely, malnourished mothers and their newborns may be responsible for higher child mortality in recent years. In this connection, the BBS survey further notes that 60 per cent of the pregnant women in Bangladesh cannot avail prenatal care as often as they need. Add to that the fact that 33 per cent of the child delivery cases still take place at home. However, the average life expectancy of people has declined rather slightly. Yet this is a cause for concern. Because, it is the trend that is important and should be reversed.