Public health
Priority health concerns
Study finds ‘alarming’ HIV rate among transgender women in Cambodia
The findings of the first-of-its-kind comprehensive survey were released on 29 July by the National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STD Control and the health NGO KHANA. A total of 1,375 transgender women from 13 provinces participated in the survey. The three provinces with the highest ...
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 ...
Health ministry warns of a spike in dengue
Large outbreaks of the mosquito-borne virus happen every three to five years. In February, the National Malaria Center observed that dengue cases reported in January were similar to those recorded in 2007 and 2012, when the country last saw dengue epidemics. Dr. Sovann said the ministry ...
Thailand struggles with chronic resistant malaria
Thailand has a special spot on the global malaria map: It has always been the first territory to develop drug resistant new types of the disease. Resistance to the anti-malarial drug chloroquine first emerged in Trat’s Bo Rai district and Chanthaburi’s Pong Nam Ron and Soi ...
Health Ministry acknowledges ‘complications’ in nod to CNM graft
The Ministry of Health this week called for closer oversight of contract employees and acknowledged “inappropriate phenomena” in paperwork filed by mid-level officials, an admission that comes just over a month after evidence came to light of widespread graft in Cambodia’s National Malaria Centre. The letter, ...
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, ...
Universal health cover still a challenge
While economic growth and poverty reduction has been impressive, health outcomes improved and Millennium Development Goals 4, 5, 6 and 7 are on tract; Universal Health Coverage is still a major challenge. The symposium was held on 13 June in Vientiane and also attended by President of ...
Thailand eliminates mother-to-child transmission of HIV
The World Health Organization announced on 8 June that Thailand has become the first Asian country to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. Elimination of transmission is defined as a reduction of transmission to such a low level that it no longer constitutes a public health ...
Smoking claims over 100 lives every day in Vietnam
Vietnam is among countries where smoking is most widely prevalent, losing more than 100 people a day to the habit and facing a huge financial burden, according to official figures. Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that the Vietnamese smoking population is among the biggest ...