Amidst all the negative and worrying news these days (European financial crisis, enterovirus 71 epidemics here in the Mekong region, mass shooting in Colorado killing 12 and wounding even a 3-month old baby...), a gem of a story.
The WHO recently reported that maternal mortality has dropped by two thirds in c. 20 years. Pieter Van Maaren, WHO Representative to Cambodia, says that “Cambodia deserves enormous credit for its tremendous reduction of the number of women who die in or soon after childbirth.”
Today in Cambodia:
- 60% of families have TVs
- 60% of all Cambodians have mobile phones
- more than 50% of families own motorbikes
Hence better access to health education and services.
In 2000 only 39% of pregnant women had antenatal check-ups with a health-care provider. Now about 90% do. Now c. 70% of deliveries are assisted by a trained midwife. Nearly 60% of babies are born in a health facility.
Whereas before nurses could choose to specialize in midwifery, this year marked the first graduation of a three-year midwifery program. The Cambodian Ministry of Health has even set up an ingenious system of financial incentives for every live birth at a health center, with the birth attendant receiving a USD 10-15 bonus.
Unfortunately for many families these medical advances come too late. It saddens me to share that only weeks ago the wife of one of our local colleagues died after giving birth to their first child. She died at a health center, albeit in one of Cambodia's remotest towns. Sometimes tragedy strikes, changing the course of even the youngest of lives. But, if it's any consolation to the grieving family, fewer fathers and newborns, grandparents and loved ones, have to go through the same in Cambodia today.
The WHO recently reported that maternal mortality has dropped by two thirds in c. 20 years. Pieter Van Maaren, WHO Representative to Cambodia, says that “Cambodia deserves enormous credit for its tremendous reduction of the number of women who die in or soon after childbirth.”
Today in Cambodia:
- 60% of families have TVs
- 60% of all Cambodians have mobile phones
- more than 50% of families own motorbikes
Hence better access to health education and services.
In 2000 only 39% of pregnant women had antenatal check-ups with a health-care provider. Now about 90% do. Now c. 70% of deliveries are assisted by a trained midwife. Nearly 60% of babies are born in a health facility.
Whereas before nurses could choose to specialize in midwifery, this year marked the first graduation of a three-year midwifery program. The Cambodian Ministry of Health has even set up an ingenious system of financial incentives for every live birth at a health center, with the birth attendant receiving a USD 10-15 bonus.
Unfortunately for many families these medical advances come too late. It saddens me to share that only weeks ago the wife of one of our local colleagues died after giving birth to their first child. She died at a health center, albeit in one of Cambodia's remotest towns. Sometimes tragedy strikes, changing the course of even the youngest of lives. But, if it's any consolation to the grieving family, fewer fathers and newborns, grandparents and loved ones, have to go through the same in Cambodia today.
Love this type of news! Of course not the personal tragedy, but the improvement of statistics, and it's a radical one. Keep blogging, someone is following :))
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