Materia Medica Malaysiana

Malaysia's Infant Mortality Rate Drops Dramatically

Malaysia has done well in reducing the infant related mortality rates over the past several decades, Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said.
He said Malaysia's infant mortality rate had dropped from the ratio of 40.8 per 1000 livebirths in 1970 to 13.0 in 1990 and 6.2 by 2002.
"Our under five (years old) mortality rate has also fallen by a similar magnitude over the corresponding period, from 57 to 17 per 1000 livebirths between 1970 and 1990, and to nine in 2000," he said in his speech at the High Level Forum on the Health Millennium Development Goals (MDG) at Mita Conference Hall in Tokyo, Tuesday. His speech was faxed to Bernama here.
The two-day forum started Tuesday and was hosted by Japan in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank and the World Health Organisation. The participants are Health, Finance and Development ministers from Asia Pacific region.
Dr Chua said although Malaysia was facing shortage of doctors and nurses, maternal and child health (MCH) was not compromised.
In fact, a lot of headway was made by training allied health profesionals, such as community nurses, medical assistants and dental nurses and providing basic health care to those in the rural areas.
"We have also provided training to the traditional birth attendants. As a result, the proportion of births attended to by skilled health personnel had increased from 20 per cent in 1970 to 96.1 per cent in 1990 and 99.2 per cent by 2000," he added.
Dr Chua said Malaysia also achieved 99 per cent in "safe deliveries" for the babies due to the specific MCH programme where all the antenatal mothers were tagged according to their levels of risk and those at greater risk were given greater attention.
"We audit every maternal death. Infant growth is monitored by growth charts. There is also nutritional surveillance of children and rehabilitation for those who are mal-nourished," he said.
He also said that to further bring down the infant mortality rate, training was also provided to the staff on neonatal resuscitation.