Health in Cambodia
The quality of health in Cambodia is rising. As of 2010, the life expectancy is 60 years for males and 65 years for females, a major improvement since 1999 when the average life expectancy was 49.8 and 46.8 respectively.[1] The Royal Cambodian Government plans to increase the quality of healthcare in the country by raising awareness of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. In 2005, total healthcare expenditures accounted for 6.4% of GDP, the highest in Southeast Asia.[2]
Maternal and Child Healthcare
In June 2011, the United Nations Population Fund released a report on The State of the World's Midwifery. It contained new data on the midwifery workforce and policies relating to newborn and maternal mortality for 58 countries. The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Cambodia is 290. This is compared with 265.8 in 2008 and 409.1 in 1990. The under 5 mortality rate, per 1,000 births is 90 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under 5's mortality is 34. The aim of this report is to highlight ways in which the Millennium Development Goals can be achieved, particularly Goal 4 – reduce child mortality and Goal 5 – improve maternal death. In Cambodia the number of midwives per 1,000 live births is 6 and the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women 1 in 110.[3]
Cambodia has been certified as a polio free country since October 2000.[4]
Ratanakiri
Health indicators in Ratanakiri are the worst in Cambodia.[5] Malaria, tuberculosis, intestinal parasites, cholera, diarrhea, and vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles are endemic.[5][6] Rattanakiri has Cambodia's highest rates of maternal and child mortality,[6] with 22.9% of children dying before the age of five.[7] Ratanakiri also has the country's highest rates of severe malnutrition.[6] Ratanakiri residents' poor health can be attributed to a variety of factors, including poverty, physical remoteness, language and cultural barriers that prevent Khmer Loeu from obtaining medical care, poor infrastructure and access to water, lack of accountability in the medical community, and exacerbating environmental factors such as natural resource degradation, decreasing food production, and internal migration.[5][6] The province has one referral hospital, 10 health centers, and 17 health posts.[8] Medical equipment and supplies are minimal, and most health facilities are staffed by nurses or midwives, who are often poorly trained and irregularly paid.[8][9]
Statistics
Note: These statistics are aggregated for both Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri provinces.
- Vaccinations[10]
- DPT1: 44%
- DPT2: 24%
- DPT3: 19%
- Measles: 39%
- Nutrition[10]
- Children moderately underweight: 35%
- Children severely underweight: 19%
- Access to health care[10]
- Visited health facility in last year: 13%
- Sexual health[10]
- Age at first intercourse: 18.0
- Age at First Marriage: 18.6
- Knows that a healthy person can have AIDS: 78%
- Knows that condoms can be used to prevent AIDS: 33%
- Uses any method of birth control: 8%
- Uses condoms: 1%
- Uses modern method of birth control: 7%
- Delivery Assistance by Doctor: 1%
- Delivery Assistance by SBA: 14%
See also
- HIV/AIDS in Cambodia
- Ministry of Health, Cambodia
- National Malaria Center of Cambodia
- Cambodian Red Cross
References
- ↑ Cambodia. Embassyofcambodia.org.nz. Retrieved on June 20, 2011.
- ↑ Levine, David I., and Rachel Gardner (2008). "Briefing paper: Health care in Cambodia.". University of California, Berkeley.
- ↑ "The State Of The World's Midwifery". United Nations Population Fund. Retrieved August 2011.
- ↑ "WHO country cooperation strategy" (PDF). World Health Organization. April 2001.
- 1 2 3 Riddell, Ebony. "Community-led safe motherhood advocacy, Ratanakiri, Cambodia" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health vol. 126 no. 6 (November 2006): 258–59.
- 1 2 3 4 "Improving Access to Healthcare for Indigenous Women and Children in Rattanakiri". Health Unlimited (2007). Accessed 2008-05-04.
- ↑ "National Child Mortality and Malnutrition (Food Insecurity Outcome) Maps". United Nations World Food Programme. Accessed 2008-05-04.
- 1 2 "Indigenous women working towards improved maternal health" (PDF). Health Unlimited (May 2006), p. 9. Accessed 2008-05-04.
- ↑ Brown, Ian. Cambodia. Oxfam (2000), p. 59–60.
- 1 2 3 4 http://www.ciesin.org/pdf/Two_Way_Health_Equity_Tables.pdf
External links
- Ministry of Health, Cambodia
- Cambodia - World Health Organization country page
- The State of the World's Midwifery - Cambodia Country Profile