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Southeast Asian health ministers focus on AIDS, maternal deaths

Sep 10th, 2008 - 10:58 am EST By Sindh Today | Category: India

New Delhi, Sep 10 (IANS) Health ministers of Southeast Asian countries, top officials and World Health Organisation (WHO) experts met here Wednesday and discussed key health issues, with a special focus on combating HIV/AIDS and maternal deaths.

Southeast Asia contributes one third of the global maternal and neonatal deaths. India comprises nearly 60 percent of the region’s land mass.

In the estimated 37 million childbirths per year, nearly 1.3 million children die in the first month itself. In addition, over one million stillbirths occur in the region. India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal and Myanmar contribute to 98 percent of all maternal and neonatal deaths in the region.

Participants from 10 countries are here to attend the 61st meeting of WHO Regional Committee for Southeast Asia.

Although most member countries have made some progress on increasing the proportion of deliveries assisted by skilled birth attendants, all countries need to make efforts to achieve universal access to skilled care at birth to reduce the burden.

Authorities said that the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to take its toll in the region, with an estimated 3.6 million people living with the disease. This is the second most affected region in the world (after African region). In India alone, about 2.5 million people are estimated to be affected by HIV/AIDS.

An estimated 260,000 new HIV infections and 300,000 HIV associated deaths occurred in 2007. Transmission among sex workers and their clients, injecting drug users (IDUs) and men having sex with men (MSM) are the main causes of the spread of the disease.

“Countries have demonstrated that implementing an effective response is feasible, both to halt and reverse epidemics and to provide services to those in need,” said Samlee Plianbangchang, WHO Regional Director for Southeast Asia.

He said that while access to services has increased since 2001, there is still a gap in implementation. Low percentage of health spending, poor utilization of existing funds and coordination of donors needs to be strengthened, he added.