In 2006, the maternal mortality ratio was an astounding 540 deaths per 100,000 births. To compare, the maternal mortality ratio in the United States that same year was 11. Compared to its neighbors, women in Cambodia were 3.6 times more likely to die in childbirth than Vietnamese women and nearly five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in Thailand (Figure 14). Figure 14: Maternal Mortality (2006) 17 Although progress has been made in increasing the availability of obstetric care, a vast majority of Cambodian still do not have access to quality, long-term reproductive health care and family planning services. In 2005, only 44% of births were attended by a skilled health professional. percent of women receive absolutely no prenatal care. Moreover, there is a significant urban bias in access to safe motherhood services, as shown in Figure 15. The data in Figure 15 come from a 1999 study on maternal and neonatal heath services conducted by 750 reproductive health experts. On a scale of 0 to 100 (with 0 as the worst and 100 as the best), this study demonstrated large disparities in rural and urban access ratings, particularly for the treatment of obstructed labor (8 vs. 90, respectively), 24-hour hospitalization (15 vs. 86), and treatment for postpartum hemorrhage (15 vs. 85). Taken together with Cambodia’s high maternal mortality rate of 540, it is clear that basic maternal health needs are not being met. Figure 15- Comparisons of access to services for and urban areas in Cambodia Source: http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACR871.pdf Health Care System: Workforce, Financing Currently, the Cambodian health system lacks funding and health care personnel, which severely limits people’s access to adequate health care services. Although there is no universal standard that can be used to assess the size of the health workforce needed to address the health care needs of a given
In 2006, the maternal mortality ratio was an astounding 540 deaths per 100,000 births. To compare, the maternal mortality ratio in the United States that same year was 11. Compared to its neighbors, women in Cambodia were 3.6 times more likely to die in childbirth than Vietnamese women and nearly five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in Thailand (Figure 14). Figure 14: Maternal Mortality (2006) 17 Although progress has been made in increasing the availability of obstetric care, a vast majority of Cambodian still do not have access to quality, long-term reproductive health care and family planning services. In 2005, only 44% of births were attended by a skilled health professional. percent of women receive absolutely no prenatal care. Moreover, there is a significant urban bias in access to safe motherhood services, as shown in Figure 15. The data in Figure 15 come from a 1999 study on maternal and neonatal heath services conducted by 750 reproductive health experts. On a scale of 0 to 100 (with 0 as the worst and 100 as the best), this study demonstrated large disparities in rural and urban access ratings, particularly for the treatment of obstructed labor (8 vs. 90, respectively), 24-hour hospitalization (15 vs. 86), and treatment for postpartum hemorrhage (15 vs. 85). Taken together with Cambodia’s high maternal mortality rate of 540, it is clear that basic maternal health needs are not being met. Figure 15- Comparisons of access to services for and urban areas in Cambodia Source: http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACR871.pdf Health Care System: Workforce, Financing Currently, the Cambodian health system lacks funding and health care personnel, which severely limits people’s access to adequate health care services. Although there is no universal standard that can be used to assess the size of the health workforce needed to address the health care needs of a given
Cambodia%20Final%20Paper.docx