Last week the World Health Organization (WHO) joined the Royal Government of Cambodia and health partners to celebrate the eighth National Day on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, presided over by His Excellency Professor Eng Huot, Secretary of State, Ministry of Health.
The focus was on the importance of good nutrition in the ‘first 1000 days’ – the period from conception to a child’s second birthday. “We selected this topic for the celebration as it aligns with the goal of the Royal Government of Cambodia to provide health services to mothers, babies and children. The goal is to make sure all of them, rich or poor, can receive health services with quality and equity,” explained Professor Tung Rathavy, Director of the National Maternal and Child Health Centre of the Ministry of Health.
Having good nutrition in the first 1000 days is critical not only to children’s survival, but also to their development to reach their potential and become healthy and productive adults. When children face under-nutrition during this period, there are a range of consequences, often irreversible, which include frequent childhood illnesses, stunted growth, delay in development, and even death.
“A focus on nutrition during the first 1000 days in Cambodia is essential to ensuring all children in this country have the chance to thrive, and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for children, building on Cambodia’s tremendous progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals for maternal and child health,” said Dr Kumanan Rasanathan, acting WHO representative in Cambodia.
By 2015, the Royal Government of Cambodia achieved its Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 by reducing the maternal mortality ratio to 170 per 100, 000 live births, the newborn mortality rate to 18 per 1,000 live births and the under-5 child mortality rate to 35 per 1000 live births. These are significant achievements, but there are challenges ahead.
Pregnant women, especially those who are pregnant for the first time, are at a high risk of having vitamin and mineral deficiencies. This explains why it is important for mothers to consume a variety of nutritious food to meet metabolic demands in the foetus for growth and development. In the first six months of babies’ lives, breast milk alone provides all nutrients that babies need. After that, parents should introduce complementary feeding, meaning adding other diverse and nutritious food, in addition to breastmilk.
In a related development, the Ministry of Health has recently been congratulated by WHO, UNICEF, Helen Keller International, Save the Children and World Vision on recently penalizing two separate companies for their activities promoting breast milk substitutes, undermining the health of children in Cambodia and in violation of the country’s law.