People seeking information on reproductive or child health issues can check out a library containing about 100 works in Khmer and English, thanks to a new web site: www.racha.org.kh.
The site, called the Cambodia Reproductive and Child Health Resource Center, is intended to link people interested in those issues with each other, as well as providing information that will help them do their jobs.
It is a collaborative effort by the Ministry of Health, the Reproductive and Child Health Alliance of Cambodia (RACHA) and Internet provider Big Pond.
RACHA, an NGO that works to improve maternal and child health as well as providing family planning services, has projects in Pursat, Kampot and Siem Reap.
Spokeswoman Maia Smith says the agency’s 60 or so workers work with rural mothers and midwives to make childbirth safer and improve the health of mothers and their children.
For example, she says, a traditional practice in Cambodia is to cut the umbilical cord at birth with a sharp piece of wood, which can infect newborns with tetanus.
Midwives trained by RACHA can provide home birth safety kits that improve birth hygiene and reduce the chance of infection. Its basic life-saving skills program has trained more than 60 midwives in caring for newborns as well as management of labor and post-delivery complications.
The organization also distributes pills and condoms to help families better space their children, and works to reduce childhood illnesses such as diarrhea, respiratory problems and anemia.
The new on-line library includes reports, photographs, training materials and facts and figures, according to a statement by RACHA officials. It also includes a discussion forum and links to dozens of other web sites.
One feature is a calendar on which people can post events, such as seminars or training sessions of interest to the reproductive and child health care community.
The site also offers descriptions of organizations working in those fields in Cambodia, as well as basic data on Cambodia, from maternal mortality to the prevalence of contraceptive use.
The project is partly funded by the US Agency for International Development. Organizations that have related information or programs to contribute can contact librarian/webmaster Ouk Manith at [email protected].
