The Health Situation of Cambodia
At the bottom of the lists
The past thirty years of conflict has left Cambodia desperately impoverished. With a per capita income of less than US$300 per year and 40% of people living on less than US$10 per month, it is one of the poorest countries in the world. According to the UN Human Poverty Index, Cambodia ranks 73rd out of 78 developing countries, with one of the lowest Human Development Index rankings (137 out of 174 globally in 1999) including some of the worst human development indicators in South East Asia. (WHO CCS Cambodia 2001)
Infant Mortality
When we speak of the health of a society, often times we look at one factor – what we call the infant mortality rate. In Cambodia, one out of twelve children will die in their 1st year of life. One out of every eight children will be dead by five years of age. For perspective, this is ten times higher than neighboring Thailand and eighteen times higher than in the US. In every thirty-six pregnancies, one mother will die from complications. Of a total population of twelve million in 2003, it was estimated 670,000 children became orphans from all causes.
HIV/AIDS
Despite the drop in the official HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the adult population from 3.9% in 1997 to 2.6% in 2003, Cambodia remains the worst affected country in the region. A representative sampling of pregnant women at government prenatal clinics revealed 2.8 percent were infected with the HIV virus. (Cambodian Ministry of Health 2004)
Malnutrition
High levels of malnutrition contribute to disease - 45% of all under 5 year olds are moderately to severely stunted in their growth from malnutrition. Only 36% of Cambodians have access to safe drinking water and only 16% have adequate sanitation facilities. Not surprisingly, Cambodia has the lowest Human Development Score in Southeast Asia. This is a combined score of life expectancy (56 years), education (literacy 67%) and quality of life.
And yet hope!
Yet against this backdrop, there’s still hope - hope because the Gospel penetrates into human suffering.