Poor Babies

Here are some numbers for you to ponder:

73 - how many staff in my Banda Aceh office
3 - how many healthy babies born to my staff or their spouse in the last 6 months
2 - how many still born babies born to my staff or their spouse in the last 6 months

I've been looking online for neonatal mortality statistics for Aceh province but no luck. According to UNICEF, the neonatal mortality rate for Indonesia is 18 per 1,000 births, based on data from the year 2000.

Before tsunami, I've read that Aceh province had one of the worst health care systems in all of Indonesia due to the 30-yr conflict. Those who could afford it went to Medan or Penang Malaysia for preventative care and for surgery. With the inflow of donor funding post-tsunami, condition and training of hospitals and clinics around the province have improved, but I still hear stories about cockroach infested hospitals or clinics with brown water or...I won't gross you out with other stories.

Back to the two poor babies. Both mothers are college educated. One of the mother is even a doctor (her husband works for me). Both mothers are healthy in their mid-20s. Both families live in Banda Aceh, the city with a robust communication system, a decent transportation network, and the best access to health care in the province. You beginning to wonder what the conditions are like in rural areas.

Alright. Hope for all happy healthy babies for my staff from now on!