The latest Epidemiological Bulletin issued by the Ministry of Public Health for the last week of 2025 registered 26 infant deaths, bringing the yearly total to 1,819 for all of 2025. This is down an impressive 19% from 2,255 in 2024, Diario Libre reports.
Regarding post-partum fatalities for the mothers, there were two reported for December, both Haitians, bringing the total to 177 for 2025, quite similar to the previous year.
The decline in infant mortality can in a good part be attributed to the new birthing tourism restriction measures implemented by the Dominican government starting in April 2025. The measures have resulted in a decline of about half of the Haitian births in the country at public hospitals. The Haitians had usually reached the emergency rooms to take advantage of free services without previous health records and many with serious conditions, impacting the local infant morality rates.
Santo Domingo, Santiago and La Altagracia accounted for the greatest portion of these deaths, 87 all told. The of the provinces on the frontier, Santiago Rodriguez, Elias Piña, and Dajabon reported no maternity deaths, as did Hermanas Mirabal.
There were no fatalities from Dengue Fever in the Dominican Republic in 2025, a first, and overall, there was a 75% reduction in cases of the dengue.
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Diario Libre
12 January 2026