tailieunhanh - Maternal, Newborn and Under-five Child Health in the South-East Asia Region*

While only lasting twenty minutes on average, fam- ily mealtimes are embedded in a social, cultural and eco- nomic context. The majority of the research conducted on family mealtimes refers to meals conducted in the evening at home. However, given the increasing trend to eat in restaurants, serve pre-prepared meals, and eat in the car (Sloan, 2006) we do not rule out other settings as an occasion for a family meal. The reports from which we draw include diversity in family structure, ethnicity, and socio-economic context. However, this is an area that is sorely neglected in the study of family mealtimes. From. | Maternal and Child Health Maternal Newborn and Under-five Child Health in the South-East Asia Region Introduction The WHO South-East Asia Region SEAR accounts for nearly one fourth of the world s population. Interestingly most countries in the Region have very young populations with nearly 50 in the reproductive age group. Consequently the numbers of pregnant women and the numbers of babies born annually are very large. An estimated 37 million childbirths take place annually. The Region has about 180 million children under the age of five. Unfortunately the Region also accounts for more than 170 000 maternal deaths and over 3 million child deaths annually. These statistics make the issue of maternal newborn and child health a major priority for the Region. A document released on the occasion of World Health Day 2005 provides an overview of the current maternal newborn and under-five child health in the 11 Member States of the WHO South-East Asia Region. It also highlights some of the efforts currently underway to improve the maternal and child health indicators in countries of the Region. While including the lessons learnt the document shows not only the rich diversity but also the different challenges faced by Member Countries and the innovative ways to overcome them. Each of the country profiles is based on reports specifically prepared for the launch of the World Health Report on World Health Day Excerpted from document No. SEA-MCH-228 2005 with the theme of Maternal and Child Health and the slogan Make Every Mother and Child Count. The country profiles clearly show how each of the Member Countries is addressing the issues of making pregnancy and childbirth safer and protecting the health and well-being of newborns and ensuring a healthier life for all children in the Region. As is well recognized making reproduction and childbirth safer benefits not only women but also newborns children families and ultimately the communities and nations. To enable women to .