IRIN examines maternal and child health in “conflict-afflicted eastern Myanmar, [where] until recently obstetric care was often crude, unsterile and dangerous for both mother and child, health experts say.” To address high rates of maternal and infant mortality in the region, “in 2005 several CBOs, the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at Johns Hopkins University, and the Global Health Access Program launched the Mobile Obstetric Medics (MOM) project — dramatically boosting access to care,” IRIN writes.

In 2006, “only 5.1 percent of deliveries were attended by a skilled provider, according to research published in 2010,” but “[b]y 2008, births attended by health providers trained to deliver emergency obstetric care had increased to 48.7 percent,” according to the news service (10/17).