Southeast Asian Region Cross-Cutting Health Issues

(home to over a quarter of the world’s population)

General Cross-cutting Issues: (WHO)

  • Measles and Rubella
  • Tropical Diseases
  • Tuberculosis
  • Non Communicable diseases
  • Antimicrobial Resistance

Gestation – Maternal Mortality Rate: 164 (per 10,000 live births)  (WHO, 2015)

“The South East Asia Region alone accounts for approximately one-third of the global maternal and child deaths annually.”  (Journal)

Top Causes of Newborn Deaths –

(Global Health Observatory – World Health Organization 2017)

  • Birth asphyxia
  • Prematurity
  • Infections

“In the South-East Asia Region, around 52% of under-five mortality is contributed by deaths during the neonatal period.” (WHO)

Stillbirth rate: 14.0 [ 13.6-14.0] (per 1000 total births) (WHO, 2020) GHO | By category | Stillbirth rate – Data by WHO Region.

Top Causes of Maternal Deaths – (WHO)

“In the Asia and the Pacific region, deaths and poor health among women remain unacceptably high. In 2010, for every 100,000 births in the region, 150 women died from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. Subregional differences are stark: for every 100,000 live births, on average 220 women die in South Asia and 150 in South-East Asia, compared to 37 in East Asia.” (UNFPA)

  • Maternal Hemorrhage
  • Maternal Sepsis
  • Indirect Maternal Deaths 
  • Maternal Hypertensive Disorders
  • Other maternal disorders

Child and Adolescent Top Causes of Death – (WHO, 2021)

  1. Road injury
  2. Drowning
  3. Self-Harm
  4. Interpersonal Violence
  5. Other (high amounts of congenital anomalies, tuberculosis, diarrhoeal diseases, lower respiratory infections etc.)

“There were an estimated 1.7 million deaths among adolescents in 2015 in the Region; the leading causes of mortality included self-harm (suicide), road injury and maternal mortality (among women). In addition, significant morbidity is reported among adolescents in the Region – a loss of 21 783 Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) per 100 000 adolescents owing to self-harm, iron deficiency anaemia, depressive disorders, road traffic injuries and diarrhoeal diseases.” (WHO, 2021)

Reproductive Years (Global Health Journal Study, 2018)

Reproductive Specific Issues:

  • STDS
  • lack of antenatal and postnatal care
  • lack of births attended by a skilled health professional

General Reproductive Age Health Issues 

Global health estimates: Leading causes of death (who.int) (example: Indonesia 2019 Data)

  • Tuberculosis
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Stroke
  • Ischaemic Heart Disease

Menopause/Post-Menopause/Aging Health Issues/Cause of Death

Global health estimates: Leading causes of death (who.int)

Ex. Indonesia (the prevalence of these conditions are consistent across all countries in SEAR)

  • Stroke
  • Diabetes
  • Ischaemic Heart Disease
  • Hypertensive Heart Disease
  • (Osteoporosis is a leading health issue for menopausal women in SEAR)

Citations for South East Asian Region:

Cross-Cutting Issues:

World Health Organization. (n.d.). Noncommunicable diseases are the no. 1 killers in The Who Sea Region. World Health Organization. Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://www.who.int/southeastasia/activities/noncommunicable-diseases-are-the-no.-1-killers-in-the-who-sear

Infectious diseases in the south-East Asia Region. Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP). (2021, February 24). Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://cddep.org/publications/infectious-diseases-in-the-south-east-asia-region/

 Maternal Mortality:

World Health Organization (WHO). MDG 5: Improve Maternal Health. (2015). WHO. Sear Value. Accessed January 29, 2022.

Maternal and child health situation in South East Asia. Maternal and Child Health Situation in South East Asia. (2012). Retrieved January 31, 2022, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dr-Tulsi-Bhandari/publication/235436968_Maternal_Child_Health_Situation_in_South_East_Asia/links/55f5307c08ae1d980394d141/Maternal-Child-Health-Situation-in-South-East-Asia.pdf

Newborn Deaths:

World Health Organization. (n.d.). Newborn Health. World Health Organization. Retrieved January 31, 2022, from https://www.who.int/southeastasia/health-topics/newborn-health

World Health Organization (WHO). Stillbirth rate: Data by WHO region. (2020 October 15). WHO. GHO | By category | Stillbirth rate – Data by WHO Region. Accessed January 29, 2022.

Maternal Deaths:

Maternal health. UNFPA Asiapacific. (2021, June 2). Retrieved January 31, 2022, from https://asiapacific.unfpa.org/en/maternal-health

 Child and Adolescent Health:

World Health Organization. (2021). Adolescent Health. World Health Organization. Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://www.who.int/southeastasia/health-topics/adolescent-health

Reproductive Years:

 Global Health Journal. Global Health Journal | Vol 2, Issue 1, Pages 1-41 (March 2018) | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/global-health-journal/vol/2/issue/1

World Health Organization. (2019). Global Health Estimates: Leading Causes of Death. World Health Organization. Retrieved January 31, 2022, from https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/mortality-and-global-health-estimates/ghe-leading-causes-of-death

Menopause/Post-menopausal years/Aging

Cheung, E. Y. N., Tan, K. C. B., Cheung, C.-L., & Kung, A. W. C. (2016, September). Osteoporosis in East Asia: Current issues in assessment and Management. Osteoporosis and sarcopenia. Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30775478

World Health Organization. (2019). Global Health Estimates: Leading Causes of Death. World Health Organization. Retrieved January 31, 2022, from https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/mortality-and-global-health-estimates/ghe-leading-causes-of-death