The Kingdom’s infant and under-five mortality rate has declined dramatically in the past five years but further progress in maternal health is needed, according twwo research from the Ministry of Planning released yesterday.

The government’s third Demographic and Health Survey found that reproductive and child health programs and facilities must be expanded and improved throughout the Kingdom.

Maternal mortality was still a problem in rural areas with average mortality rates at 206 per 100,000, the survey said, while prenatal care from a health professional had increased since 2005. Eighty-nine percent of women who had a live birth received prenatal care in 2010 compared with 69 percent in 2005.

The report made strong links between higher levels of education and wealth, and better maternal and child health.

“One in every three adult Cambodian women is illiterate,” Minister of Women’s Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi said at talks on Thursday where preliminary results were discussed.

The report said that children living with uneducated mothers and in the poorest households are most likely to be malnourished, and there was a higher infant and under-five mortality rate in rural areas.