Maternal Mortality and the Gains of the Developmental State in Southeast Asia


If only for the spectacle of “effect sizes” of public health policies, there could not be a more appropriate statistic than deaths to mothers per 100,000 live births. This indicator implicates sanitation, hygiene, medical skills and technology, which are all functions of the developmental state. It not only indexes public economic resources, but also to where these resources are put to use. A full length essay on this aspect of the developmental process will have to wait. Meanwhile, I can vouch for the spectacle of Vietnam, recovering from its gruesome war wounds, an erstwhile socialist economy, embarrassing the blatantly capitalist Philippines, also among the oldest “democracies” of Asia.

Singapore the winner in the developmental race, is clearly kindest to its mothers, and Malaysia and Thailand are front runners. These three are worthwhile models of public health and reproductive policies, but what about the rest?

the year is 2008, and the data are provided by UNESCAP, 2012.

 
singapore 8
brunei 21
malaysia 31
thailand 48
vietnam 56
phils 91
myanmar 240
indonesia 240
cambodia 290
Timor-leste 370
lao pdr 580

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