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Top 5 Facts About Women’s Health Care in Cambodia

Women’s Health care in CambodiaThe Southeast Asian nation of Cambodia is currently experiencing its worst in maternal mortality rates. In Cambodia, maternal-related complications are the leading cause of death in women ages 15 to 46. The Minister of Health has created several partnerships with organizations such as USAID to help strengthen its healthcare system. Here are five facts about women’s health care in Cambodia.

Top 5 Facts About Women’s Health Care in Cambodia

  1. Health Care Professionals and Midwives
    USAID has provided a helping hand when it comes to educating healthcare professionals and midwives. Since USAID’s partnership with the Ministry of Health, USAID has helped raise the percentage of deliveries assisted by skilled professionals from 32 percent to 71 percent. The Ministry of Health was also able to implement the Health Sector Strategic Plan to improve reproductive and women’s maternal health in Cambodia.
  2. Health Care Facilities
    Between 2009 and 2015, the number of Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) facilities increased from 25 to 37. With more access and an increase in healthcare facilities, 80 percent of Cambodian women are giving birth in health care facilities.
  3. Postpartum Care
    The Royal Government of Cambodia renewed the Emergency Obstetric & Newborn Care (EmONC) Improvement Plan and extended the Fast Track Initiative Roadmap for Reducing Maternal and Newborn Mortality to 2020. This aims to improve women’s health care in Cambodia to improve the lives of women living with postpartum depression. It is also used to improve newborn care and deliveries.
  4. Obstetric Care
    Obstetric care has improved rapidly. According to a 2014 Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey, 90 percent of mothers receive obstetric care two days after giving birth, and three-quarters of women receive care three hours after. Intensive obstetric care has helped drop Cambodia’s maternal mortality rate significantly. In 2014, Cambodia’s maternal mortality rates decreased from 472 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2005 to 170 deaths per 100,000 live births.
  5. U.N. Women
    U.N. Women is working closely to help address the AIDS epidemic in Cambodia. The organization’s efforts to reduce the epidemic focus on protection and prevention. In 2003, 3 percent of Cambodian women reported being tested for AIDS. It has also been observed women in urban areas are more likely to get tested than those in rural areas. Ultimately, Cambodia has set a goal to eradicate AIDS from the country by 2020 through prevention and protection.

Cambodia has seen much economic growth over the years, but the money provided for health care is minimal. Consequently, it is difficult for the government to provide all services. However, there have been great strides in improving women’s healthcare in Cambodia. By fighting to better the lives of women, the Cambodian government has set a goal to establish universal health care by 2030.

– Andrew Valdovinos
Photo: Flickr

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Antenatal Care in Nigeria

Antenatal Care in NigeriaMany developing countries have reduced their maternal mortality rates by expanding maternal care through policy innovations. Between 1990 and 2015, maternal mortality has dropped by 44 percent. While this is a considerable amount, maternal mortality remains high in developing countries. For example, in Nigeria, only 61 percent of pregnant women visit a skilled antenatal care provider at least once during their pregnancy. The average rate for similar lower-to middle-income countries is 79 percent.

Maternal health concerns the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. During this time, major causes of maternal mortality include hemorrhaging, infection, high blood pressure and obstructed labor.

Every day, 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and birth. In fact, 99 percent of maternal deaths occur in developing countries. It is necessary for policy innovation in developing countries because sustained use of maternal and antenatal care and increased rates of institutionalized delivery reduce maternal mortality.

Antenatal Care in Nigeria

Of the women who did access and antenatal care, 41 percent did not deliver in a health care facility. Nigeria ranks in the top 16 nations in maternal mortality: 576 deaths per 100,000 births. Containing only 2.45 percent of the world’s population, Nigeria contributes to 19 percent of maternal deaths globally.

There is a stark difference in the number of women who seek antenatal care in urban and rural areas: 75 percent versus 38 percent, respectively. Studies also show that more skilled professionals attended births in urban areas, revealing that 67 percent of women had a trained professional helping them. In rural areas, only 23 percent of women had the help of trained professionals. In these rural areas, only 8 percent of newborns receive postnatal care, whereas 25 percent of children do so in urban environment.

Due to the lack of health coverage and used resources, many of Nigeria’s infants die from preventable causes. Approximately:

  • 31 percent die from prematurity,
  • 30.9 percent die from birth asphyxia and trauma and
  • 16.2 percent die from sepsis.

Ways to Increase Access to Antenatal Care in Nigeria

Improving maternal and antenatal care in Nigeria can encourage women to utilize services such as improved facility infrastructure and amenities. Policy innovation in Nigeria can result in better equipment, more available drugs and an increase in overall comfort for the spaces.

In a study of antenatal patients in Nigeria, women responded positively to increased interpersonal interactions with providers. The study also suggested that improved maternal care should include access to providers who have technical performance skills and experience. Improved maternal care also includes access to providers who display empathy for their patients. Furthermore, policy innovation in Nigeria could improve increased access to facilities for those in rural areas.

Accessed to maternal and antenatal care in Nigeria can be improved with policy innovations made throughout the country. By making health facilities more accessible to more women and giving them the supplies and support they need, Nigeria will be able to decrease its maternal mortality rate and save its families from preventable complications of during pregnancy and infancy.

– Michela Rahaim
Photo: Flickr

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New Healthcare Initiatives Decreasing Maternal Morbidity

decreasing maternal morbidityAdolescents and young mothers all around the world struggle with depression, psychosocial stress, anxiety and other mental health conditions. Approximately 15.6 percent of pregnant women who live in low to middle-income countries suffer from anxiety and depression, which increases to about 20 percent after birth.

When mothers live with these health conditions, it can also result in adverse effects for their children. Maternal depression is often linked with lower cognitive scores among children under five. In addition, maternal depression can hinder the attachment of the mother to the infant, as well as the mother’s care of her child. The mother may also fail to adequately eat, bathe and care for herself. Suicide is a prominent cause of death for mothers who suffer from depression.

Efforts are currently being made in decreasing maternal morbidity. Grand Challenges Canada’s Saving Brains, Global Mental Health and Stars in Global Health have invested $86 million for 215 innovations in protecting and nurturing early childhood brain development along with improving mental health treatments and services in low to middle-income countries. The Saving Brains program has had a lot of requests for a stronger focus on adolescent and young mothers, given the high rates of mental disorders that can begin during adolescence.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with Grand Challenges Canada for the purpose of decreasing maternal morbidity by meeting the mental health needs of the most vulnerable adolescent and young mothers. The partnership between the two organizations is currently considering project proposals that consider how the needs of adolescent and young mothers may differ from other populations, use innovative approaches to deploy the necessary resources in a timely manner and find creative methods of using outlets for information that are trusted by mothers and youth.

“It’s critically important but also insufficient for children to survive pregnancy and birth. They also need to thrive,” said Peter Singer, MD, chief executive officer of Grand Challenges Canada in an interview with Scope, which is published by Stanford Medicine. “One of three children, or 200 million worldwide, fail to reach their full potential because their brain development is not well supported, particularly in early childhood.”

Thriving and not just surviving may be the key to decreasing maternal morbidity worldwide. With organizations like Grand Challenges Canada and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation continuously making efforts to tackle this issue, there may be a steady decrease in the number of adolescent and young mothers who struggle with mental health conditions along with a decrease in the number of children negatively impacted by their mothers who suffer from these circumstances.

– Blake Chambers

Photo: Flickr