Neonatal Rescue is returning to Cambodia this February! Beginning in 2017, Neonatal Rescue has been working to provide life-saving solutions for infants through innovative medical devices, education, and support for Cambodia. Neonatal Rescue is partnered with hospitals in the capital city, Phnom Penh, and others in the southeast of Cambodia within the Kandal Province. We are partnered with the Cambodian Ministry of Health and Finance and hope to expand into more provinces soon. We also want to build up relationships with our Cambodian partner hospitals. We will deliver an additional 5 ventilators to 3 hospitals bringing our total number of delivered ventilators in Cambodia up to 6. Additionally, we will continue the work of training doctors, nurses, and midwives on basic neonatal care.
Nearly a quarter of neonatal mortality in the developing world is attributed to preventable issues that can be solved with access to ventilators and proper training. Ventilators are costly and lack availability in developing markets. In low resource health systems, ventilator access for rural communities is even lesser, exacerbating neonatal mortality. Additionally, a lack of resources in smaller clinics and hospitals leads to a high rate of referral to larger hospitals.
The reliance on referrals overwhelms larger hospitals and lowers the quality of patient care. By bringing ventilators and training to smaller clinics and hospitals, neonatal mortality can be reduced through better, faster care and by reducing the workload for larger hospitals. This process works two-fold as strengthening smaller hospitals and clinics leads to the entire health system becoming strengthened. We at Neonatal Rescue are excited to further our work in Cambodia, as we strive to strengthen health systems, support community health, and save lives.