ASIA/CAMBODIA - Urgent need for healthcare specialists to address maternal deaths

Phnom Penh (Agenzia Fides) – 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. The country must increase the number of trained health professionals to reduce its high maternal mortality rate. 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. 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 the WHO. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 3/9/2010)