Search
  1. Home
  2. Asia
  3. Cambodia

Cambodia needs more midwives to reduce maternal deaths

[Camboidia] A proud mother shows her child to the camera in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. [Date picture taken: 10/15/2006] David Swanson/IRIN
Maternal mortality is a key challenge for Cambodia
    PHNOM PENH
    Cambodia must increase the number of trained health professionals to reduce its high maternal mortality rate, experts say.

    There is one doctor or midwife for every 1,000 people in Cambodia, compared with two per 1,000 in Thailand, and 12 per 1,000 in Japan, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

    "We need more experts, like midwives and medical doctors, and more equipment," said Keth Ly Sotha, deputy director of the National Maternal Child Health Centre.

    While 56 percent of births are attended by a health professional - up from 32 percent in 2000 - Cambodia is unlikely to meet its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing maternal mortality to 140 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2015, said Sherif Rushdy, a UN Development Programme consultant.

    With 540 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, Cambodia has the second highest maternal mortality rate in the region, after 660 per 100,000 births in Laos, according to WHO.

    kk/nb/at/mw

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join