Improving the Health of Women & Children in Cambodia

The Need

War and civil unrest have left Cambodia with some of the worst health statistics in the region, with women and young children at particular risk. According to UNICEF, the mortality rate for children under five increased from 115 per 1,000 lives births in 1990 to 141 in 2004, and nearly half (45 percent) of all children under five are underweight. The maternal mortality rate in Cambodia is also high, with 450 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000.

Abbott's Efforts

In an effort to help improve the health of women and children in Cambodia, the Abbott Fund has formed a partnership with Direct Relief International to support nutrition education and programs at Angkor Hospital for Children, a pediatric teaching hospital inSiem Reap, Cambodia.

Because health care workers in Cambodia are not trained in pediatric health issues, families often lack proper health care knowledge. The partnership between the Abbott Fund and Direct Relief supports the ongoing efforts of Angkor Hospital to educate health care workers on counseling families about the nutritional needs of their children and, ultimately, improving their children’s health. 

To support these efforts, the Abbott Fund provided two grants totaling over $238,000 and assisted in coordinating nearly $1 million in donated Abbott nutritional and pharmaceutical products. The grants have funded training, staff support, local and regional educational workshops, materials for the hospital’s family education program, food rations and demonstration equipment, and treatment of hospitalized children and their mothers.

Direct Relief has successfully worked with the Angkor Hospital for Children since 2003. Founded in 1999, the hospital has provided free comprehensive care for more than 500,000 children in Siem Reap and neighboring provinces. With the assistance of the Ministry of Health (MOH), the hospital also trains government health care workers and nursing students from across the country. In 2005, the hospital was officially designated as Cambodia’s first teaching hospital. Angkor Hospital is one of two sites selected by the World Health Organization to host their Integrated Management of Children Illnesses training programs. 

Results

Since the partnership began in September 2006, progress has been significant:

• 250,000 children assessed for nutritional status
• 18,600 courses of treatment provided through Abbott product donations
• 6,600 families attending nutrition information classes
• 394 staff and government health care providers attending in-service training on nutrition
• 3 hospital nurses trained in clinical teaching skills at the Boromarajonani College of Nursing in Bangkok, Thailand

Company Description

Abbott Laboratories is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to discovering new medicines, new technologies and new ways to manage health. Abbott's products span the continuum of care, from nutritional products and laboratory diagnostics through medical devices and pharmaceutical therapies. Abbott's comprehensive line of products encircles life itself - addressing important health needs from infancy to the golden years. Abbott has sales, manufacturing, research and development, and distribution facilities around the world. Abbott is recognized for its global reach and ability to serve customers around the world.