World Vision’s Little Book of Maternal and Child Health in the Asia Pacific pdf

World Vision’s

Little Book of

Maternal

and Child

Health

in the Asia Pacific

Statistics and strategies to help bring Millennium

Development Goals Four and Five within reach

MOTH

ER & CHILD HEALTH

2

© World Vision Asia-Pacific 2009

Stories researched and contributed by

World Vision communicators, 2008/2009

Editing and design: Katie Chalk

Review: Laurence Gray, Dr Sri Chander

To find out more about World Vision’s

work with maternal and child health in Asia

and the Pacific:

www.wvasiapacific.org

[email protected]

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Left: Doctor Goat

Thameesha has always suffered from wheezing

and breathing difficulties. Since he started

drinking goat milk, he is stronger and his lungs

less prone to asthma or infections. “A villager

told me that goat milk is good medicine,” says

Thameesha’s father. “So with World Vision’s help I

went out and got a male and four female goats.”

While the “medicinal” properties of goat milk

are unconfirmed, its nutritional value for children

is very high. Thameesha’s father says since the

goat’s milk was introduced to his children’s diets,

their wheezing has all but disappeared.

Photo: Hasanthi Jayamaha/World Vision Lanka

Contents:

Why health, why now? 4

Who is this book for? 6

Maternal and child health 8

terms and definitions

Part 1: Statistics 10

Part 2: Strategies 18

Part 3: Recommendations 40

References and reading 44

4

An introduction by Watt Santatiwat,

Vice President, World Vision Asia Pacific region

Maternal and child health and nutrition interventions

are complex issues for the Asia Pacific region.

As statistical indicators they measure the health of a

nation and the level of its development. But behind

those statistics are the shadows of many other urgent

development issues - gender inequality, massive wealth

discrepancies, inadequate education or public health

spending, and the tragedy of avoidable deaths through

under-prioritisation of women, children and the poor.

The Asia Pacific region has made some progress in

changing the health of mothers and children for the

better. But we still seriously lag behind in our efforts.

The region still makes up 43% of the world’s total

maternal deaths, and well over 40% of our children are

malnourished.

In our region, 18 of the 29 developing countries are

currently off-track to achieve Goal 4 – to reduce child

deaths by two-thirds, and 23 are off-track to achieve

Goal 5 – to reduce maternal deaths by three-quarters.

In 2010, World Vision will commence advocacy efforts

across the region to encourage solutions at national

Why health, why now?

level on maternal and child health. Each country faces

a different set of challenges, and no country can rest

just yet.

My home country of Thailand, for instance, has shown

what can be possible with appropriate investment of

government funds in its people. Yet even here, in a

country that is often held up as a development model

for others, there is room for improvement. We still see

unacceptable levels of preventable illness and deaths in

marginalised communities, and malnutrition still exists

in our children in both rural and urban areas.

Fighting malnutrition needs to be a priority in all Asia

Pacific countries, not just for children at different

stages of their growth, but also for mothers. Over 30%

of women are malnourished in this region, harming

expectant mothers and reducing the chances of

survival for their children before they are even born.

Spending on health and nutrition needs to be

increased and improved. The Asia Pacific region spends

well below the world average of 5.1% of GDP. In South

Asia only 1.9% is currently spent on health – and one

in every five children that dies worldwide is an Indian

child.