The Ministry of Health and partners celebrated the National Day of Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health on Feb. 21, targeting Cambodia’s priority of achieving global maternal and child health coverage.

Minister of Health H.E. Prof. Chheang Ra presided over the event taking place in Phnom Penh with the participation of senior representatives from the Cambodian Red Cross, concerned government bodies, and development partners, including the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, UNFPA, and FHI 360.

According to the minister, Cambodia’s newborn, infant, and under-five-year-old child mortality rates have dropped by more than half from 2014 to 8, 12, and 16 per 1,000 live births, respectively, in 2021-2022.

With that, Cambodia has already achieved the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 to end preventable deaths of infants, children under one year of age, and children under five years of age.

Almost all pregnant women receive prenatal care, and 99 out of 100 of them reported receiving the care from trained health wor
kers during pregnancy-a sharp increase from only 30 percent in 2000.

He added that child deliveries in Cambodia attended by trained health professionals increased from 32 percent in 2000 to 99 percent in 2021-2022.

H.E. Prof. Chheang Ra advised all concerned players not to be complacent with the achievement.

He called for joint efforts to further strengthen the quality of maternal, newborn and child health services as well as an effective health care system to ensure healthier population in Cambodia.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse