Malaysia succeeds in reducing maternal death rate

Malaysia has succeeded in reducing maternal death rate and this has prompted many developing countries to emulate the approach adopted by the Malaysian government, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahya said today.

Following the success, he said the government had also set a target to further reduce the rate to only 11 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births by 2015.

However, he did not disclose the current maternal death rate for every 100,000 live births in the country.

"Among the leading causes for maternal death are related obstetric complications of pregnancy, such as excessive bleeding and embolism," he said when opening the two-day seminar on Medical Issues During Pregnancy organised by Tuanku Fauziah Hospital here Saturday.

He said to ensure the maternal death rate in the country continued to decline and achieve the target in 2015, the government had taken several moves, including by providing various facilities to improve health of pregnant women and the quality of family planning and obstetric services.

Also present were Perlis Health Committee chairman Jafperi Othman, Perlis Health director Datuk Dr Ghazali Othman and HTF director Datuk Dr Ahmad Nordin Jais.