China makes progress in health issues

China is one of the three Eastern Asian countries that has the highest proportion of women in the developing world who delivered in health facilities in 2012, said a report released by the Guttmacher Institute at Women Deliver 2013, a global conference on health issues related to women and children.

A study done by the institute shows that an estimated 287,000 women worldwide die from pregnancy-related causes, and about 3 million newborns do not survive past the first 28 days of life.

The majority of these deaths in developing counties mostly result from treatable conditions, which could be prevented with adequate care.

However, more than a third of women in the developing world do not give birth in health facilities with properly trained staff and adequate equipment.

Between 2008 and 2012, the proportion of women in the developing world who delivered in health facilities increased from 55 to 64 percent. But the proportion varies across sub regions. The lowest rate is in Eastern Africa, where it is 44 percent, while the highest is in Eastern Asia, at 99 percent.