Login Register

Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - UNFPA to help lower maternal death rates

UNFPA to help lower maternal death rates

| Publication date 22 September 2022 | 20:33 ICT

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
Health minister Mam Bun Heng meets with Sandra Bernklau, the newly appointed UN Population Fund (UNFPA) representative to Cambodia, on September 20. FN

UNFPA to help lower maternal death rates

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is set to continue cooperation with the Ministry of Health to reduce maternal and child mortality rates in Cambodia.

Newly appointed UNFPA representative to Cambodia Sandra Bernklau made the pledge during her meeting with health minister Mam Bun Heng at the ministry headquarters in Phnom Penh on September 20.

According to the ministry, Bun Heng thanked the UNFPA for its cooperation in Cambodia’s health sector, in particular its support for maternal and child health protection. The ministry, he added, has achieved success in the 5th UN Millennium Development Goals on maternal and child health ahead of schedule.

Bernklau said UNFPA is planning a strategic development programme, which has received the ministry’s support and will be launched soon.

“We agreed to cooperate with the health ministry to improve the maternal and child health protection programme, and in particular to reduce the maternal mortality rate by 75 per cent. The rates decreased from 472 deaths per 100, 000 live-births in 2005 to 154 deaths in 2021,” Bernklau said at the meeting.

According to the primary results of the 2021-2022 Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey, maternal and maternal mortality rates have declined significantly.

“The estimate of the maternal mortality ratio in 2021-2022 is that there were 154 deaths per 100,000 live births. This means 0.004 of mothers died in childbirth, or four in every thousand,” the report said.

The percentage of women who received medical care for live births or still births increased from 39 per cent in 2000 to 99 per cent in 2021-2022.

Contact author: Mom Kunthear

MOST VIEWED

  • Wing Bank opens new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004

    Wing Bank celebrates first anniversary as commercial bank with launch of brand-new branch. One year since officially launching with a commercial banking licence, Wing Bank on March 14 launched a new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004. The launch was presided over by

  • Girl from Stung Meanchey dump now college grad living in Australia

    After finishing her foundational studies at Trinity College and earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Ron Sophy, a girl who once lived at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump and scavenged for things to sell, is now working at a private

  • Ministry using ChatGPT AI to ‘ease workload’; Khmer version planned

    The Digital Government Committee is planning to make a Khmer language version of popular artificial intelligence (AI) technology ChatGPT available to the public in the near future, following extensive testing. On March 9, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications revealed that it has been using the

  • Wat Phnom hornbills attract tourists, locals

    Thanks to the arrival of a friendly flock of great hornbills, Hour Rithy, a former aviculturist – or raiser of birds – in Kratie province turned Phnom Penh tuk tuk driver, has seen a partial return to his former profession. He has become something of a guide

  • Ministry orders all schools, public and private, to close for SEA Games

    From April 20 to May 18, all public and private educational institutions will be closed to maintain order and support Cambodia's hosting of the 32nd SEA Games and 12th ASEAN Para Games, said a directive from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport. Cambodia will host the

  • Almost 9K tourists see equinox sunrise at Angkor Wat

    Nearly 9,000 visitors – including 2,226 international tourists – gathered at Angkor Wat on March 21 to view the spring equinox sunrise, according to a senior official of the Siem Reap provinical tourism department. Ngov Seng Kak, director of the department, said a total of 8,726 people visited Angkor Wat to

Related articles