Save the Children’s Laos Health Program has had great success in the area of the country that they have been serving for 20 years. They have seen an 80% drop in maternal and infant mortality compared with the whole of Laos. But by their own admission there is a long way to go:
The health situation of women and children in Laos is amongst the poorest in Southeast Asia; Infant mortality rate is 70 per 1000 live births and under five mortality claims 98 per 1000 live births1. Every day 36 children under-five die due to preventable and treatable diseases. Percentages of underweight children have been almost unchanged between 1990 and 2006 (40% and 37.1%) and the prevalence of stunting in under-fives is up to 40.4%. According to UNICEF/WHO official estimate (2007), immunisation coverage has declined—only 27% of children by their first birthday have received all eight recommended vaccinations2. Maternal mortality remains very high at 405/100,000 live births, approximately 800 deaths per year or 2 deaths per day. A high percentage of children (71.5%) are born to mothers who received no antenatal care and 84.8% of pregnant women give birth at home3 . These are clear indicators of low health service utilization and poor quality health services/facilities.
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