Priority health concerns
Maternal and child health
Cambodia frees 32 surrogate mothers after they vow to keep their babies following
Thirty-two Cambodian women who were charged with human trafficking for serving as surrogate mothers have been provisionally released from detention after agreeing to keep the babies rather than giving them up as originally planned, officials said on Wednesday. []Surrogacy was banned in 2016 because the country ...
Children in sex industry of ASEAN cry for implementation of legally binding agreements
A report by ILOs in 2017 estimated that 152 million children are involved in child labor worldwide, of which 73 million are in hazardous work, including situations where they are engaged in child prostitution. Addressing child prostitution is an important part of addressing child labor. Keep ...
Myanmar stalling on end to child soldier recruitment: UN
Myanmar has not done enough to fulfil its promise to end the use of child soldiers and underage recruitment may even be on the rise, a top UN official said Tuesday. The military and a number of rebel groups have for years drafted underage soldiers to ...
Revised sex education curriculum planned for secondary schools
The government and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), together with civil society organisations, are discussing the inclusion of comprehensive sexuality education in the curriculum at lower and upper secondary schools. Keep reading ...
Why Southeast Asia’s children are facing an obesity epidemic
Malnutrition is leaving Southeast Asia’s children predisposed to obesity and fatal diseases later in life. With the rise of processed foods and less active lifestyles, these health impacts are only going to get worse unless children become the focal point of change. []At the same time, ...
Midwife crisis: Laos slashes maternal mortality but Trump defunding threatens the progress made
Medical training has reduced maternal and infant mortality rates in rural Laos. US president’s decision to cease funding UN body behind the program, over accusation it backs forced sterilizations in China, could undo all the good work. Keep reading ...
Per Liljas
Day care wait lists still growing in much of Japan
Day care waiting lists have declined slightly overall but still grew on the year in 16 of 34 major Japanese municipalities, suggesting that the government remains far from its goal of clearing the chronic backlog. The Nikkei surveyed 20 cities and Tokyo’s 23 wards, with ...
Zinc deficiency rampant in VN women, children
Vietnamese people are zinc deficient at an alarming rate, especially pregnant women and young children.The information was announced on Monday at a symposium to welcome Việt Nam Micronutrient Day (June 1-2).A survey conducted in 2015 showed that nearly 70 per cent of children under five ...
Mothers giving birth in Vientiane hospitals still at risk
Mothers giving birth in Vientiane hospitals still face a risk of death similar to local community healthcare centres due to medical staff’s lack of ability and treatment experience, according to an expert. Medical professionals should take new steps to expand and improve national obstetrics and ...
High number of dengue fever patients reported in Hà Nội
The number of dengue fever cases in Hà Nội has increased since the beginning of this year, even though it is not yet high season for the disease. Statistics released by the Hà Nội Department of Health showed that since the beginning of the year, ...
