Priority health concerns
Maternal and child health
WHO supports exclusive breastfeeding
A representative committee of the Ministry of Health and the WHO took part in the World Breastfeeding Week celebrations in Vientiane on August 21, which is celebrated every year in August. The Ministry of Health and the WHO are encouraging exclusive breastfeeding and improving babies’ ...
Access to healthcare improving in Xekong
Xekong province is among the poorest in Laos, with an infant mortality rate of 70 per 1,000 live births and a maternal mortality ratio of 357 per 100,000 live births, according to 2015 statistics from the provincial health office. Xekong province was one of five provinces-targeted ...
WFP extends support for mother and child health
The World Food Programme has forecasted a budget of over US$8.5 million in assistance for the 2016-17 fiscal year to improve the health of mothers and children in Laos. This support forms part of the 12-month project “Mother and Child Health and Nutrition Programme”, which is ...
Dengue infections down but govt ‘remains alert’
After a record dengue fever outbreak nationally and regionally last year, health officials say the number of cases so far this year have dipped. Yangon Region admitted the most patients, at 390, while Tanintharyi Region came in second, with 227 cases. Rounding out the top three ...
Cause of high anemia rate among women still a mystery
The astonishingly high rate of anemia among adult women in Cambodia has for years been a major health concern, but the main cause of the problem—long believed to be iron deficiency—is still a mystery, according to a study released last week. Frank Wieringa, the study’s author, ...
Nutrition shortfalls harming Kingdom's economy, report finds
Malnutrition costs the Cambodian economy an estimated $266 million each year, according to a new report, which urged the government to invest more in tackling the problem. Suboptimal breastfeeding and malnutrition in mothers were also factors, accounting for $36.9 million, which Wieringa said pointed to an ...
Laos reports local transmission of Zika virus: WHO
Laos is the latest country to report a local transmission of Zika virus, according to the World Health Organization, as fears mount over the mosquito-borne illness that has been linked to birth defects. Asia has seen only a sprinkling of cases of the virus, but a ...
High prevalence of domestic violence during pregnancy: research
One in three, or 35 per cent of Vietnam’s pregnant women, are victims of domestic violence, mostly at the hands of husbands, according to doctors at Hanoi Medical University (HMU). Dr Nguyen Hoang Thanh from the HMU revealed the shocking data as part of a research ...
Polio program to continue after some miss out
Health officials are to continue their polio vaccination campaign beyond the official end of the program, which was on 22 February, as it emerged that even in downtown Yangon less than half the under-fives eligible had been inoculated. The US$4 million Supplementary Polio Immunisation Campaign targeted 4.6 ...
Zika national guidelines planned in Myanmar
Health officials are drawing up plans to help protect Myanmar against the Zika virus. Dr Soe Lwin Nyein, director general of the department of public health, said earlier this week that nationwide guidelines would be issued soon. A symposium on Zika virus infection held at the ...
