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Tag: maternal mortality

  • How to tackle maternal mortality – Ambode

    How to tackle maternal mortality – Ambode

    • Presents certificates to 400 trained Traditional Birth Attendants

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, on Thursday presented certificates of participation in orientation course to 400 Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) in the State, just as he expressed optimism that they would contribute to the State Government’s effort to reduce maternal mortality rate.

    Speaking at the certificate presentation ceremony of the TBAs held at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa Secretariat, Governor Ambode said that one of the cardinal points of his administration was to make traditional birth attendants a relevant factor in child care delivery, hence the urgent need to improve the skill of the traditional health attendants to reduce maternal mortality.

    Governor Ambode said Lagos already has a functional Traditional Medicine Board that has strategic programs that are targeted towards regulating, monitoring, promoting and integrating traditional medicine into health policy based on the Alma Alta Declaration of W.H.O. 1978.

    He said the intention of his administration is geared towards streamlining traditional medicine so as to change the perception of traditional medicine as a religious and spirit-magical practice by virtue of their proximity and accessibility to the rural dwellers.

    “Traditional Birth Attendants are part of the birthing process all over the world. They remain the preferred service providers for delivery in rural communities over the formal health facilities. They are usually self-taught or informally trained.

    “Pregnancy which should be a thing of joy is now seen as death warrant for most women due to the weak Primary Health Care system. Despite the provision of health services through Primary Health Centres, many still patronize Traditional Birth Attendants.  This shows the level of trust people repose in them and of course their relevance in Primary Healthcare delivery,” he said.

    He said the training of the TBAs covered several areas including protecting the health of mother and baby, care of women during pregnancy and child birth, treatment of complications due to miscarriage and or unsafe abortion, pre-pregnancy advice and health education, care of new born, among others.

    To this end, Governor Ambode said his administration would continue to do all within its powers to take traditional medicine to a higher level through innovative research and development, just as he assured that Government would continue to strengthen its efforts in the areas of Regulation, Training, Coordination, Monitoring and Supervision of practice of Traditional Medicine towards effective integration with orthodox medicine.

    He however urged the TBAs to discharge their duties professionally according to the ethics guiding their profession, urging them to continue to improve their practice through continued education and scientific development.

    The Governor also seized the occasion to restate the commitment of his administration to provide efficient healthcare to all Lagosians, at all levels by ensuring that the General Hospitals and Primary Healthcare Centres are well equipped and fully operational.

    “We have recently signed off on the Ultra Modern, World Class Medical Park which will ensure our citizens no longer have to seek medical care abroad. Our own specialized baby home, the Ayinke House Maternity is being upgraded and rehabilitated and I have been assured that the project will be delivered by the end of this year,” he said.

    Earlier, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Health, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga, said the State Government is committed towards giving residents the best as far as healthcare delivery is concerned, adding that the Governor’s passion about the people of the State is responsible for his resolve to ensure access to quality and affordable health care delivery.

     

  • MTN backs efforts to end maternal mortality

    MTN backs efforts to end maternal mortality

    One of the enduring misfortunes in history is a woman’s death  during pregnancy or child birth. The World Health Organisation (WHO) in conjunction with most countries is battling to end the scourge.

    As part of this year’s Mother’s Day celebration, MTN Foundation, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of telecoms gaint MTN Nigeria, joined forces with JNC International to unveil its Maternal Support Project to back the government’s efforts in reducing maternal mortality.

    The objective of the partnership, according to MTN, is to create unhindered access to affordable health care facilities and services provided by skilled healthcare professionals, particularly for the safety of pregnant women and their children.

    Present at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) were Commissioners of Health from the six beneficiary states; Abia, Cross River, Kaduna, Niger, Oyo and Sokoto that were selected for the first phase of the project. The six states were chosen following a thoroughly rigorous selection process, to become beneficiaries under the first phase of the MTNF Maternal Ward Support Project.

    Explaining the rationale behind the beneficial partnership, Ms. Nonny Ugboma, Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation said: “We are concerned about how maternal health can be improved. We also believe that the private sector must work with the government and the public sector to help reduce maternal mortality and ensure that our mothers and children lead healthy lives.”  Ugboma, who noted that a sizeable number of these deaths are from preventable causes while others occur due to lack of access to pre-natal care, further explained the huge benefit that the initiative brings “This is why we started the MTNF Maternal Ward Support Project. Through this initiative, we seek to contribute to creating unhindered access to health care systems and skilled health professionals for pregnant women in Nigeria.”

    The goal, under the first phase, is to renovate and equip maternal wards in at least 24 hospitals across the six states. Each maternal ward would be equipped with, 20 hospital beds; 20 standard hospital mattresses; 20 standard hospital bed pillows; 10 four-way foldable ward screens; 20 metal bedside cupboards;  20 visitors’ chairs; 10 drip stands; 20 hydraulic over-bed tables; 10 height adjustable baby cots and  two Carl Novel baby incubators.

    Following the launch, the Foundation hopes to sensitise women in these states to visit the maternal wards, so they can get easy access to the right care in a conducive environment.

    Assuring the foundation’s continuous support, Ugboma said “guided by our discussions with our stakeholders in the private and public sector, we will continue to invest in improving the quality of life of Nigerians in the areas of health, education and economic empowerment. “We are also grateful to millions of Nigerians, who continue to support our parent company – MTN Nigeria through easy or tough times,” she said.

    Expressing appreciation for the initiative,  a member of the House of Representatives,  Abass Tajudeen,  thanked  MTN Foundation for taking a bold step in supporting the government’s  efforts  in addressing issues of primary health care delivery.

    With the launch of the initiative, the MTNF and JNC hope to continue complementing government’s efforts to reduce child mortality with areas relating to focus on Primary Healthcare, retraining and re-orientation for birth attendants, especially in the rural areas and equitable distribution of healthcare facilities around the country.

    It will be recalled that the Foundation has  invested over N18 billion into key projects spread across health, education and economic empowerment. Recently, the foundation commenced the implementation of another 200 new projects, tagged: MTNF What Can We Do Together initiative. These projects are being executed based on nominations by members of the public last year and have been making tremendous impacts in communities around Nigeria.

    Experiences have shown that the birth process is perhaps one of the most dangerous journeys that most women are likely to make. This is especially troubling as worrying statistics revealing the extent of loss of lives emerge by the day.

    According to 2015 reports from the World Health Organisation (WHO), approximately 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth every day and 99 per cent of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries like Nigeria. An even more specific representation is provided by UNICEF, which reports that “every single day, Nigeria loses about 2,300 children under five and 145 women of childbearing age. This makes the country the second largest contributor to the under–five and maternal mortality rate in the world.”

    Due to the fundamental role a mother plays in the life of a child, Nigeria’s current statistics of 53, 000 deaths per year during childbirth is indicative of inherent lapses in the critical aspects of the healthcare delivery system.  A recent UNICEF reports said every 10 minutes, one woman dies on account of pregnancy/childbirth in Nigeria. These worrying statistics reveal the extent of damage that is being done and dim any hope of a possible solution if urgent steps are not taken. It also shows that financial and geographical access to care and good quality healthcare delivery service is becoming scarcer by the day.

  • Maternal mortality drop by 44 percent – UN

    Maternal mortality drop by 44 percent – UN

    Maternal mortality has fallen by 44 percent since 1990, United Nations agencies and the World Bank Group has declared.

    In a Joint news release by the World health organisation (WHO), UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and the United nations Population Division Maternal deaths around the world dropped from about 532 000 in 1990 to an estimated 303 000 this year.

    According to the report, this is the last in a series that has looked at progress under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This equates to an estimated global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 216 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births, down from 385 in 1990.

    Maternal mortality is defined as the death of a woman during pregnancy, childbirth or within six weeks after birth.

    According to WHO Assistant Director-General, Family, Women’s and Children’s Health Dr Flavia Bustreo, “The MDGs triggered unprecedented efforts to reduce maternal mortality. Over the past 25 years, a woman’s risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes has nearly halved. That’s real progress, although it is not enough. We know that we can virtually end these deaths by 2030 and this is what we are committing to work towards.”

    Achieving that goal will require much more effort, according to Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, the Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations’ Population Fund. “Many countries with high maternal death rates will make little progress, or will even fall behind, over the next 15 years if we don’t improve the current number of available midwives and other health workers with midwifery skills,” he said. “If we don’t make a big push now, in 2030 we’ll be faced, once again, with a missed target for reducing maternal deaths.”

    The analyses contained in Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2015 – Estimates by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and the United Nations Population Division are being published simultaneously in the medical journal The Lancet.

    Ensuring access to high-quality health services during pregnancy and child birth is helping to save lives. Essential health interventions include: practising good hygiene to reduce the risk of infection; injecting oxytocin immediately after childbirth to reduce the risk of severe bleeding; identifying and addressing potentially fatal conditions like pregnancy-induced hypertension; and ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health services and family planning for women.

  • Uduaghan proffers solution to maternal mortality

    Uduaghan proffers solution to maternal mortality

    Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has identified access to new technologies, books and state-of-the-arts facilities and equipment as key tools needed in the fight to reduce maternal mortality.

    He said it was important for hospitals to be adequately equipped with the best and latest healthcare facilities needed for health workers to improve their knowledge and be abreast of the latest trend in handling health challenges involving pregnant and nursing mothers.

    Uduaghan, a medical doctor, spoke at the presentation of a book titled ‘Obstetric Ultrasonography: Basic Principles and Techniques’, which was authored by Dr Festus Ossai

    While explaining the importance of proper maternal and child healthcare service to guests at the occasion, the governor disclosed that his administration, through the free maternal and under-five healthcare service scheme, has reduced the rate of maternal and child mortality in the state

    He explained that the maternal and child mortality rate went down by more than half from the prevailing 2,500 deaths per 500,000 (.5percent) at the time of his inauguration in 2007 to 1,000 deaths per 500,000 (.2percent) in 2013.

    “To underscore the importance of this book, as at today, in Delta State about 500,000 women gets pregnant every year, in 2007, out of the 500, 000, 2,500 died but with the introduction of our free maternal healthcare, we have been able to reduce the deaths to 1,000  per 500, 000 pregnancies,” the Governor stated.

    “With this book and with ultrasonography equipment, if we can get the less expensive tablet type and teach our specialist how to use this in the field, we will save a lot of life.”

    He observed that serious attention should be paid at all times to pregnant and nursing mothers and advised his successor to retain the free maternal and healthcare programme he initiated for the benefits of mothers and their children in particular and humanity in general.

    “Surviving pregnancy by women is very important; it is in the interest of our daughters, mothers and women to ensure that they get safe delivery.”

    Dr Uduaghan commended the author of the book for his efforts observing that it has immortalized his name and that of the gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, in whose honour the book was written.

    In his response, Senator Okowa assured that he would carry on the free maternal healthcare of Governor Uduaghan’s administration, noting that, “Delta State has done so much in the healthcare sector both in its infrastructure and programmes; the state has one of the best maternal and child healthcare services in the country, we intend to continue with this programme and there is the need to put up a legislation on community health insurance programme that will guarantee the health of our people.”

    For his part, Dr Ossai said he was motivated to write the book because of his desire to contribute to the wealth of knowledge in obstetrics and gynecology and fulfil the yearnings of his colleagues looking for materials to update their knowledge in vital area.

    Other speakers at the occasion included the chairman of the occasion, Prof. Sam Oyovbaire, who observed that it was important for books to be written in rare areas that requires public enlightenment.

  • Council partners NGO on maternal mortality

    Yaba Local Council Development Area (LCDA), has partnered with a Wales-based non-for-profit and non-governmental organization, Life for African Mothers, to reduce high rates of maternal mortality.

    The council Chairman, Hon Jide Jimoh said, “we offered our gratitude for the positive hands of friendship from Life for African Mothers, a NGO based in Wales, United Kingdom with objectives to supporting African communities on maternal problems.

    “Through the partnership with Life for African Mothers the residents would enjoy necessary medications on maternal health related issues.”

    In a statement signed by him, Hon Jimoh said mother and baby clothes including bedding will be distributed to women in need and health centres in the community.

    Jimoh he is more determined to addressing several health issues particularly the reduction of the menace faced by expectant mothers, “as the NGO involvement will help in reversing minor circumstances that usually lead to deaths of expectant mothers and child. It aimed to make birth safer in Sub Saharan Africa, by providing medication to treat eclampsia and post partum haemorrhage.”

  • World Population Day: Preventing Teenage Maternal Mortality

    World Population Day: Preventing Teenage Maternal Mortality

    Abiodun Alade writes that as the world commemorates the World Population Day, awareness on the issue of adolescent pregnancy and creating a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled, has been put in front burner.

    “When we devote attention and resources to the education, health and wellbeing of adolescent girls, they will become an even greater force for positive change in society that will have an impact for generations to come. On this World Population Day, let us pledge to support adolescent girls to realize their potential and contribute to our shared future,” the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon said in his goodwill message on this year’s world population day.

    The United Nations’ (UN) World Population Day is annually observed on July 11 to reaffirm the human right to plan for a family. It encourages activities, events and information to help make this right a reality throughout the world.

    As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to celebrate the day, the chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Chief Festus Odimegwu said the current teenage maternal mortality rate is put at 0.822 per 1,000 women. Odimegwu said this at a briefing to mark the 2013 World Population Day in Abuja.

    According to him, the figure remains high particularly in the northern parts of Nigeria, adding that, “Kastina state has the highest number of teenage pregnancy according to the 2008 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS).  Katsina, with 65 per cent of cases of teenage pregnancy tops the table; Edo State has the lowest rate of teenage pregnancy, which the report puts at 2.9 per cent.”

    Indeed, between last year and now there has been rising cases of teenage maternal mortality worldwide. In Nigeria, adolescent fertility rate stands at 121 live births per 1, 000, according to Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS).

    The figure is high when compared to statistics from other African countries such as Algeria with seven live births per 1,000; South Africa with 58 per 1,000 and Ghana with 63 per 1,000.

    But what are the major causes of this high mortality rate particularly in Nigeria? Odimegwu believes that the maternal mortality rate is aided by unsafe abortions, pregnancy complications, poor ante natal care and weak pelvic bones, while major consequences for the teenage mother include curtailment of educational attainment and likely unstable marital life.

    Other causes he outlined are poverty, sexual abuse, ignorance, cultural and religious beliefs. He appealed for concerted efforts among all stakeholders to curb the rising trend and pledged the commitment of the NPC to effectively implement the national population policy.

    The various interventions of the federal government in the health and education sectors, he added, would not only help reduce the scourge but also mitigate the negative impact on the girl child.

    On his part, the Deputy Country Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr. Osaretin Adorin, in a goodwill message, said issues of teenage pregnancy should not only be considered a health issue, but that of human rights.

    “Their bodies are not even matured enough, so both the mother and child suffer. It is sometimes a case of a baby becoming a mother,” he added just as he called for the enactment and implementation of policies that protect the girl child.

    Corroborating this view, the president of Esther Child Right Foundation, Mrs. Esther Ogwu said that poverty, lack of parental care and single parenting are parts of the causes of teenage pregnancy.

    “Poverty is an issue, especially when the parents cannot and are not providing for the children. However money is not just the reason but parental care and communication; some parents find it difficult to discuss with their wards. Their children can hardly ask them questions, so they end up not knowing what those teenagers are passing through. Most schools are not also training them well; some schools don’t teach sex education, leaving the pupils and students to wrong information. The issue of single parenting also brings about negligence in some families.”

    Ogwu pointed out that most victims of teenage pregnancy end up dropping out from schools and sometimes find it difficult to fulfill their potentials in life. “Some of them drop out from schools; they also find it difficult to forgive themselves especially when they see their peers doing well in the society. They also end up as unprepared mothers,” she added.

    The President of Compassionate Women Initiative, Mrs. Mary Olasupo, noted that the consequences of teenage pregnancy includes; public embarrassment, education setback, untimely death, early marriage, emotional trauma. She also called on the various stakeholders in the society to provide an enabling environment for the upbringing of the girl child.

    World Population Day aims to increase people’s awareness on various population issues such as the importance of family planning, including gender equality, poverty, maternal health and human rights.

    The day is celebrated worldwide by business groups, community organizations and individuals in many ways. Activities include seminar discussions, educational information sessions and essay competitions. In 1968 world leaders proclaimed that individuals had a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and timing of their children.

    About 40 years later modern contraception remains out of reach for millions of women, men and young people. World Population Day was instituted in 1989 as an outgrowth of the Day of Five Billion, marked on July 11, 1987. The UN authorized the event as a vehicle to build an awareness of population issues and the impact they have on development and the environment.

    In 1989, in its decision 89/46, the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme recommended that, in order to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues in the context of overall development plans and programmes and the need to find solutions for these issues, 11 July should be observed by the international community as World Population Day.

    Since then, with the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) encouragement, governments, non – governmental organizations, institutions and individuals organize various educational activities to celebrate the annual event.

    As the world population edged to 7 billion people in 2011 (up from 2.5 billion in 1950), it has had profound implications for development. A world of 7 billion is both a challenge and an opportunity with implications on sustainability, urbanization, access to health services and youth empowerment.

    About 16 million girls under age 18 give birth each year. Another 3.2million undergo unsafe abortions. The vast majority – 90 per cent — of the pregnant adolescents in the developing world are married. But for far too many of these girls, pregnancy has little to do with informed choice. Often it is a consequence of discrimination, rights violations (including child marriage), inadequate education or sexual coercion.