[Death from external causes in infants in Colombia 2005-2013]

Latin America has shown a significant reduction in infant mortality in recent years. The objective of this study was to analyze official data for children under five years of age in Colombia, emphasizing external causes of death, which have been less studied.

Descriptive cross-sectional design using secondary information from death records reported by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) and information dynamic tables of vital statistics, taken from the official information system of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection (SISPRO), between 2005 and 2013 were reviewed. The information was organized in tables for descriptive analysis of variables such as age, sex, and specific cause of death, by departments.

In this period 106,339 children under 5 years died; 85,897 of them (81%) in the first year of life. The number of deaths decreased from 14.266 in 2005, to 9.499 in 2013. The main external cause of death was drowning, responsible for 1749 deaths, followed by traffic accidents, 1.282. Homicides were responsible for 692 deaths. In all the causes of death analyzed there was a decline over the decade.

Colombia is accomplishing the fourth millennium goal, “reduce the mortality of children under 5 years.” Progress has been made in deaths from external causes, but there is still some way to go.