12,000 babies die each year during childbirth in Vietnam

Nearly 12,000 babies in Vietnam die each year during childbirth or within the first day of life, according to a new report Save the Children released today.

A doctor is taking care of a new-born baby at the National Hospital of Pediatrics in Hanoi. Photo by VNA

In addition, the report says, half worldwide infant mortality rate, equaling 1.1 million per year could be prevented with heightened healthcare. Southeast Asia is home to six of 75 high-burden countries in terms of child and maternal mortality, including Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines and Vietnam. Within this regional group, Vietnam leads the way in maternal and child health, with the lowest number of children dying with during childbirth or within the first day.

Vietnam also has a high percentage of births with skilled attendants (91.9%) in the region and high per-capita government expenditure on healthcare per capita, at USD93.39, while the WHO recommends at least USD60 per capita, compared to countries like Myanmar that invests a mere USD3.61 per capita.

“The first moments of a child’s life are the most dangerous, yet too many mothers do not have access to any skilled help during labour,” said Gunnar Andersen, Country Director for Save the Children in Vietnam. “Vietnam has made substantial progress in maternal and child health, but we should not rest on our laurels. Instead, we should continue our work to achieve even better health services so no child dies from preventable causes.”

Save the Children has called on world leaders to commit to a blueprint for change in 2014, called the "Five point newborn promise," which focuses on training and equipping enough skilled health workers to make sure that no baby is born without adequate care, and removing fees for all pregnancy and birth services.

The group is also calling on world leaders, philanthropists and the private sector to meet and commit to the new plan to make it feasible. The five points include:

- Issuing a defining and accountable declaration to end all preventable infant mortality, saving 2 million newborn lives a year and preventing 1.2 million stillborn births worldwide.

- Ensuring that by 2025 every birth is attended by trained and equipped health workers who can deliver essential healthcare.

- Increasing per-capita expenditures on health to at least the WHO minimum of USD60

- To pay for the training, equipment and support of health workers and removing user fees for all maternal, and postnatal healthcare services, including emergency obstetric care

- To convince the private sector, including pharmaceutical companies, help address unmet needs by developing innovative solutions and increasing the availability for the poorest to new and existing products for maternal, newborn and child health.