Cambodia reports improvement in child survival rate

Updated:2006-08-31 04:23:18
Cambodia reports improvement in child survival rate
AP
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Cambodia's child survival rate has risen in
the last five years due to better nutrition, health care and increased
breast-feeding, according to survey results released Thursday.

Between 2000 and 2005, the infant mortality rate dropped to 65 from 95
deaths per 1,000 births, said a news release on the Cambodia
Demographic and Health Survey of 2005, conducted by the state-run
National Institute of Public Health and National Institute of
Statistics.

The number of children dying before age 5 has also decreased to 83 per
1,000 now from 124 per 1,000 five years ago, the survey report said.

It also said that 60 percent of children under 6 months old were
exclusively breast-fed in 2005, compared to 10 percent in 2000, and
that household consumption of iodized salt rose considerably.

Many experts consider breast-feeding beneficial for developing immunity
against infections, and iodized salt useful for combating the threat of
mental and other disabilities caused by iodine deficiency.

The report said better nutrition has led to a decline over the past
five years in the number of children too short for their age, to 37
percent from 45 percent, and too thin for their height, to 7 percent
from 15 percent.

The findings were based on interviews of 14,534 households over six
months ending in March.

Cambodians' health is among the poorest among Asians, and the
government's annual spending on health is only about US$3 (2.3) per
person, according to the World Bank.

The bank said international donors' financing for health is about twice
the amount spent by the government, while Cambodians' out-of-pocket
spending accounts for around 75 percent of their own total health
costs.


08/31/06 04:20 EDT

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