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Nutrition Article in the Economist

I read this Economist article about nutrition in the developing world that shed some light.  Here are some great passages:

…

More than 160m children in developing countries suffer from a lack of vitamin A; 1m die because they have weak immune systems and 500,000 go blind each year. Iron deficiency causes anaemia, which affects almost half of poor-country children and over 500m women, killing more than 60,000 of them each year in pregnancy. Iodine deficiency—easily cured by adding the stuff to salt—causes 18m babies each year to be born with mental impairments.

…And nutrition can also be improved in all sorts of ways, including by better sanitation, which reduces intestinal diseases and enables people to absorb more nutrients; by investing in smallholder farming, to increase dietary variety; by vaccinating children against diseases; by educating women to breastfeed babies for longer, to improve immunity. Marie Ruel, of the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, DC, ticks off some of the tasks: focus on the first 1,000 days of life (including pregnancy); scale up maternal-health programmes and the teaching of good feeding practices; concentrate on the poor; measure and monitor the problem.

Great WHO Video on Women and Children’s Health

This is a well done short video on Women and Children’s Health.  Watch it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74cUQepOnbQ.

Some points:

Millennium Development Goal # 4 Reduce child mortality by 2/3

Millennium Development Goal # 5 Reduce maternal mortality by 3/4 & achieve universal access to reproductive health services

360,000 women die giving birth each year — most preventable if medical attendant present and emergency services available

3 million babies die in the first month — they can be saved by skilled care during and after birth

8.1 children die every year before their 5th birthday: malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea — they can be helped by skilled/emergency care

16 million teens give birth every year — risky pregnancies. Prevent with reproductive education.

Ready to Bring Clean Birth Kits for Laos

I am actively looking now for an organization/hospital in Laos that would like free clean birth kits, as well as training for their pre-exisiting staff.  Articles like the one that follows about Xekong province in Laos makes me want to get started NOW.

While the Millennium Development Goals aim for 260 maternal deaths out of every 100,000 births by 2015 currently this province has 406 per 100,000 births and infant mortality stands at 48 per 1,000 births. In the under five age group the mortality rate is now 65 per 1,000 children. UGH!

I understand that clean birth kits are not enough to solve the problem but they can address sepsis and improve birth outcomes.

Here is the article:

High maternal, child mortality rate persists in Xekong

The maternal and child mortality rate in Xekong province is likely to still be high by the year 2015, Xekong provincial Health Department Director Mr Visan Inthavong said on Thursday.

This is one of many challenges facing the Xekong authorities as the province tries to achieve the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, and will be a priority from now until then.

“The maternal mortality rate in Xekong province is now 406 per 100,000 births and infant mortality stands at 48 per 1,000 births. In the under five age group the mortality rate is now 65 per 1,000 children. The MDG target is to reduce the death rate of birthing mothers to 260 out of every 100,000 births by 2015. But I don’t think Xekong province can achieve this goal,” Mr Visan said.

In 2015, we estimate that the maternal mortality rate in Xekong will be 310 per 100,000 births, the infant mortality rate will remain at 1 percent, and among under fives it will drop to 53 percent, Mr Visan said.

In other areas, 64 percent of people in the province have access to clean drinking water but 70 percent don’t have a hygienic toilet they can use on a daily basis.

Last year, more than 27,000 people received health check-ups at hospitals and dispensaries, which is an increase from previous years.

Mr Visan said the healthcare network covers 98 percent of the province with a provincial hospital, three district hospitals, 16 dispensaries and 27 private pharmacies.

However, these facilities are not enough to meet the needs of the province as it develops and Xekong requires more medical staff, health facilities and modern equipment in the near future to achieve the MDGs and lower the maternal and child mortality rate by 2015.

“To reduce the maternal and child mortality rate by 2015 we have implemented a number of initiatives. These include a project to provide free treatment to children under five years old and a free health service for mothers and children. More low-income families now have access to our services throughout the province,” Mr Visan said.

Xekong province hopes to build a new 120-bed hospital with modern medical equipment, and new dispensaries for people living in remote areas that are inaccessible by road.

Xekong is the poorest province in Laos and is home to more than 100,000 people, of whom 90 percent live in rural areas. There are four districts: Kaleum, Lamam, Dakcheung, and Thataeng. Dakcheung and Kaleum are on the government’s list of the 45 poorest districts in the country.

Source: Vientiane Times
(Latest Update October 29, 2011)

WHO – 10 Facts on Maternal Health

This is an excellent review of the state of maternal health in the developing world.  See this article on WHO’s website:

1. “1000 women die every day due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth “.   After HIV “conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth” are the leading cause of death of women.

2. 4 things that cause 70% of maternal death: “severe bleeding, infections, unsafe abortion, and hypertensive disorders (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia).”  Postpartum bleeding can kill an otherwise healthy woman in 2 hours.

3. Postpartum Morbidity (fever, anemia, fistula, incontinence, infertility and depression) afflicts 20 million women per year.

4.10% of all births are to girls 15-19. In many countries teen moms are twice as likely to die in childbirth.

5. Rich people don’t die giving birth, poor people do. “Of the 1000 women who die every day, 570 live in sub-Saharan Africa, 300 in South Asia and five in high-income countries.”

6. Trained birth attendants prevent deaths.

7. Rural women in the developing world are less likely than urban women to attend 4 prenatal visits, which are important for identifying problems.

8. 46,000 women die every year from unsafe abortions.  Preventing unwanted pregnancy is crucial.

9. Missing the Millenium Development Goals.  “Since 1990 the global maternal mortality ratio has declined by only 2.3% annually instead of the 5.5% needed to achieve MDG 5, aimed at improving maternal health.”

10.  Women need skilled medical care above all.

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