WHO representative Li Ailan (third from left) and health minister Mam Bun Heng during the handover ceremony in August 2021. The government and WHO mark Cambodia’s many health success stories and the 75th anniversary of the UN agency’s founding on April 7. - Phnom Penh Post/ANN
PHNOM PENH, April9 (Xinhua): Cambodia has achieved a number of great achievements in the development of the health sector in past decades, a joint statement released by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced.
The statement was to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of WHO.
"Cambodia has achieved significant health outcomes in the past decades that have changed many people's lives for the better," it said.
Life expectancy has risen dramatically in Cambodia, reaching 76 years old as of 2022, the statement said, adding that nearly all (99 percent) of women now give birth with a skilled health provider, an increase from just over one in three women in 2000.
The statement said neonatal and under-five mortality rates have rapidly declined over the past two decades, from 37 to 8 and 124 to 16 per 1,000 live births, respectively.
The Southeast Asian nation eradicated polio in 1997 and has achieved significant progress in preventing, controlling and eliminating other communicable diseases, it said, adding that the number of reported falciparum malaria cases is at its lowest ever, and it has been five years since malaria mortality was last recorded in 2018.
The statement added that the rates of tuberculosis incidence and mortality have decreased by around 50 percent from 2000 to 2021, and Cambodia achieved the reduction of global AIDS targets ahead of schedule.
Cambodia effectively prepared for and responded to health security threats and emergencies, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic, through the strengthening of its surveillance and response systems, laboratory capacity, and public health and social measures.
The kingdom achieved high COVID-19 vaccination coverage while maintaining essential health services and delivered effective mental health and psychosocial support where it was needed during this heightened time of stress and crisis, the statement said. - Xinhua
