Sri Lankan women get the best prenatal care in South Asia among other countries since Sri Lanka uses its resources more efficiently and equitably, a World Bank report revealed.

 

The fact is clearly emphasized in a World Bank report titled “Sparing Lives: Better Reproductive Health for Poor Women in South Asia,” released yesterday in South Asia. The report reveals that Sri Lanka outpaces Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan in realizing targets related to reproductive health.
 
In a comparative analysis, the report focuses at Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the major risks faced by poor women, gender discrimination, early childbearing, poor nutrition, poor awareness of health, low access to quality health services and, ultimately, child loss and premature death.

“On different perspectives, Sri Lanka confronts challenge related to reproductive health better than other South countries in the region. For example, the lifetime risk of dying during pregnancy for a woman in Sri Lanka is 1 in 430, which is significantly lower than in the rest of the region: in Bangladesh the lifetime risk is 1 in 59, in India 1 in 48, in Pakistan 1 in 31, and in Nepal 1 in 24. The average risk in these five South Asian countries (1 in 43) is almost a hundred times greater than that of a woman in industrialized countries (1 in 4000),” the World Bank report analyzed.
 
 “Even though Sri Lanka maintains a clear record in reproductive health, it cannot be complacent about its reproductive health achievements. It must continue to invest and maintain the momentum in its interventions in the health sector,” said Naoko Ishii, World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka.