Taking stock of Myanmar's progress toward the health-related Millennium Development Goals: current roadblocks, paths ahead.

Myanmar is a developing country with considerable humanitarian needs, rendering its pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) an especially high priority. Yet progress to date remains under-examined on key fronts. Particularly within the three health-related MDGs (MDGs 4, 5, and 6), the limited data reported point to patchy levels of achievement. This study was undertaken to provide an overview and assessment of Myanmar's progress toward the health-related MDGs, along with possible solutions for accelerating health-related development into 2015 and beyond. The review highlights off-track progress in the spheres of maternal and child health (MDGs 4 and 5). It also shows Myanmar's achievements toward MDG 6 targets--in the areas of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. Such achievements are especially notable in that Myanmar has been receiving the lowest level of official development assistance among all of the least developed countries in Asia. However, to make similar progress in MDGs 4 and 5, Myanmar needs increased investment and commitment in health. Toward moving forward with the post-2015 development agenda, Myanmar's government also needs to take the lead in calling for attention from the World Health Organization and its global development partners to address the stagnation in health-related development progress within the country. In particular, Myanmar's government should invest greater efforts into health system strengthening to pave the road to universal health coverage.

Adverse birth outcomes among native-born and foreign-born mothers in Taiwan: a population-based birth cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The number of children born to foreign-born mothers in Taiwan has significantly increased since the 1990s. These foreign-born mothers are mainly from China and Southeast Asia. Children born to foreign-born mothers, according to media reports, are subject to inferior health. This study sought to determine whether socioeconomic disparities in birth outcomes exist between native and foreign-born mothers in Taiwan. METHODS: Analysis data were obtained from the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study of 20,090 nationally representative 6-month-old babies, born in 2005. The data on the babies were divided into two groups, those of foreign-born mothers and those of Taiwanese mothers. The health outcome variables that were examined included two adverse birth outcomes: low birth weight and preterm birth. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine the association between income and foreign-born status, as well as birth outcomes among both groups. RESULTS: Children of native Taiwanese mothers had a higher prevalence of low birth weight (6.9%) than did children of China-born (4.7%) and Southeast Asia-born mothers (5.2%). The prevalence of preterm birth was also higher among children of native Taiwanese mothers (8.4%) than among children of Southeast Asia-born (7.2%) and China-born mothers (6.3%). Foreign-born status was associated with lower odds of low birth weight among families with a monthly family income < NT$30,000 (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.14-0.42, p < 0.001), and lower odds of preterm birth among families with a monthly family income < NT$30,000 and NT$30,000-69,999 (AOR = 0.63, CI = 0.40-0.99, p < 0.05, and AOR = 0.68, CI = 0.53-0.88, p < 0.01, respectively). Having a higher monthly family income (NT$70,000+ and NT$30,000-69,999) was associated with lower odds of low birth weight (AOR = 0.59, CI = 0.46-0.77, p < 0.001 and AOR = 0.75, CI = 0.60-0.94, p < 0.05, respectively) among Taiwanese mothers, but not among foreign-born mothers. CONCLUSION: Foreign-born mothers from China and Southeast Asia did not experience worse birth outcomes than native Taiwanese mothers did, regardless of the disadvantaged socioeconomic position of their families.