Opening Ceremony of Delivery/ Waiting Rooms and Health Center
October
3, 2018
Kompong
Thom, Cambodia
Two standalone labour
and delivery room buildings and a health center with a labour/delivery room
suite will be officially opened. The
buildings were constructed by ADRA Cambodia through the Enhancing Mother/newBorn/child
health in Remote Areas through health Care & Community Engagement (EMBRACE)
and HELP Health Center Construction projects.
EMBRACE began in February
2016 and is focused on improving the health of mothers and children living in
remote regions of Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Philippines, and Rwanda. Over the course of its four year lifespan it
will serve an estimated 100,000 people, of which about one third are children.
EMBRACE is also raising public awareness of maternal,
newborn, and child health (MNCH) within Canada.
Within Cambodia, the EMBRACE project targets 168 communities
in the Choam Khsant, Chey Saen, Rovieng, and Sandan districts and is directly
improving the lives of approximately 39,990 people.
EMBRACE
focuses primarily on improving and saving the lives of women of reproductive
age, newborns, and children under five. These objectives are achieved
through health and nutrition behavior change, communication, and the empowering
of staff and systems in health clinics. Building and equipping these labour
rooms, delivery rooms, and the health center is key to this empowerment. The labour
rooms reduce the risks for pregnant women by providing a space for them to stay
before and after their delivery.
At March
2018, the percentage of mothers and pregnant women screened for warning signs
related to the pregnancy, delivery, or health of child or mother and then referred
to health centers or hospitals increased from 27.3% to 45.5%. Referral and screening for pregnant women and
girls and boys (U5) screened for malnutrition increased from 15.0% to 44.2% for
girls and from 9.7% to 43.9% for boys. These new facilities will further help
to improve these percentages.
The opening
ceremony for all of these buildings will be conducted in one place at the new
Health Center in Khors village, Tumring Commune.
The standalone
delivery/waiting rooms are located at Sandan Health Center, Sandan Village,
Sandan Commune and at Chheu Teal Health Center, in Kampong Taben village,
Sandan district, Kampong Thom Province and were built by ADRA Cambodia through
the EMBRACE project. The new Health
Center building with the delivery waiting room included in the main building is
located at Khors village, Tumring Commune and was built in partnership with
HELP Health Center Construction. This
includes ring wells, incinerators and equipment.
Approximately
500 persons will be present at the inauguration ceremony of the health center
and delivery waiting rooms, including His Excellency Sok Lou, the Governor of
Kampong Thom Province, Governor, Deputy Governors and officials around Sandan
district, Kampong Thom Provincial Health Department Director, Kampong Thom
Operational District, and Health Center Chief, Ms. Allison Stewart, Chargé d’affaires, Cambodia
Office of the Embassy of Canada, Mr. Frank Spangler, representative from ADRA
Canada, Mr. Mark Schwisow, Country Director of ADRA Cambodia, ADRA Cambodia
project team members as well as students and community members from Tumring, Sochet
and Chheu Teal Communes.
EMBRACE is
funded by a partnership between the Government of Canada through Global Affairs
Canada and ADRA Canada. It is being
implemented in Cambodia by ADRA Cambodia.
