Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

faces a number of population health challenges. Apart from modern medicine,

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

plays a big role too. The

Human Rights Measurement Initiative The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) is a non-profit organisation primarily housed in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 2016 by Anne-Marie Brook, K. Chad Clay, and Susan Randolph: experts in human rights and economics. These ...

finds that

is fulfilling 59.2% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to health based on its level of income. When looking at the right to health with respect to children, Benin achieves 77.5% of what is expected based on its current income. In regards to the right to health amongst the adult population, the country achieves 81.5% of what is expected based on the nation's level of income. Benin falls into the "very bad" category when evaluating the right to reproductive health because the nation is fulfilling only 18.5% of what the nation is expected to achieve based on the resources (income) it has available.

Water supply and sanitation

According to the Joint Monitoring Program of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

and

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

, three quarters of the Beninese population had access to an improved water source in 2008, whereas 12% had access to

improved sanitation Improved sanitation (related to but distinct from a " safely managed sanitation service") is a term used to categorize types of sanitation for monitoring purposes. It refers to the management of human feces at the household level. The term was co ...

. The share rose from 63% concerning water and from 5% concerning sanitation in 1990. Coverage in urban areas is considerably higher than in rural areas.
Based on: * * * * * *, p. 18 * Wastewater treatment is extremely rare in Benin. In most cases, wastewater is not disposed appropriately. According to a 2001 national health survey, in the cities of Cotonou, Parakou and

Porto-Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Gu ...

, two out of 1,000 households dispose their wastewater in a correct way, while most of them discharge it directly into the nature or drains. This leads to pollution and can cause water-borne diseases like

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

and

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

., cited in:

Health status

Life expectancy

The 2014 CIA estimated average life expectancy in Benin was 61.07 years.

Infectious diseases

On 16 March 2020, the first

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

case in the country was confirmed in

Maternal and child healthcare

The 2011 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Benin is 410. This is compared with 468.9 in 2008 and 587.6 in 1990. The under 5 mortality rate, per 1,000 births is 121 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under 5's mortality is 27. In Benin the number of midwives per 1,000 live births is 4 and the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women is 1 in 43. According to a 2013 UNICEF report, 13% of women had undergone

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...

.UNICEF 2013
, p. 27.

References

External links

The State of the World's Midwifery - Benin Country Profile
{{Africa in topic, Health in