Why maternal mortality should be tackled
The problem of high maternal, neo-natal and child mortality remains a challenge requiring an urgent attention if available statistics are a yardstick. Over 500 women die in every 100,000 live births, 40 neo-natal deaths in 1000 births and 75 infant deaths in 1000 births. These are avoidable deaths which do not occur in developed nations […]
The problem of high maternal, neo-natal and child mortality remains a challenge requiring an urgent attention if available statistics are a yardstick. Over 500 women die in every 100,000 live births, 40 neo-natal deaths in 1000 births and 75 infant deaths in 1000 births. These are avoidable deaths which do not occur in developed nations and they can be avoided in Nigeria too if the required medical attention can get to the affected areas.
These avoidable deaths also affect the source of the nation’s future human resources in a manner that can have negative effect on future development of the country. It is for these reasons that the matter deserves decisive intervention from appropriate quarters.
Credit goes to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) for taking up the challenge which falls squarely within its mandate and will make the desired impact on the unfortunate trend in the nation’s health sector. The Midwives Service Scheme (MSS) was introduced by the Ali Pate-led Agency to tackle the root cause of the problem which is the reluctance of heath workers to work in rural areas. Under the MSS, midwives and other skilled health workers relevant to the task of curbing the unacceptably high rate of maternal, neo-natal and child mortality are posted to the rural areas worst-hit by this scourge.
According to news reports on the pace setting scheme, about 4,000 midwives have been recruited to be deployed to more than 1200 health facilities across the country comprising primary health centres and referral general hospitals with a view to providing the required medical attention to address the problem. About 15 million people are benefitting from the MSS which brings to them 24 hour service of professional antenatal care of pregnant women and those in labour prior to delivery in addition to family planning and immunization.
The NPHCDA has succeeded not only in recruiting midwives and other skilled health workers, but also retaining them to work mostly in the rural areas of the country. This feat of sorts was recorded by evolving appropriate incentives for the participants to find such postings acceptable to them. But the real feat is the immediate remedial impact of the MSS on the health of the people in the rural areas in general as well as the reduction in the suffering and avoidable deaths of pregnant women, women at birth and children which was the case in the past.
This is a very laudable example of a committed government agency manned by humane and highly competent Nigerians coming up with an innovative and effective solution to an old but unacceptable health problem that has been killing innocent people and taking the lives of mostly rural poor.
If there is any group of people qualified for the national awards, they will definitely be found at the Ali Pate led NPHCDA. One can only hope that the Federal Government and the MDGs office in particular which have provided critical support for the MSS will sustain the scheme so that it can attain the desirable objective of curbing the alarming mortality rate of mothers and children.
We also hope that the NPHCDA and indeed all other agencies in the health sector will direct their resources and expertise to similar health challenges facing Nigerians in accordance with the objectives of the global campaign of health for all.
These are initiatives we must all encourage so as to tackle the myriad of health problems facing our nation today. A healthy nation is indeed a wealthy nation. It is time Nigerians begin to enjoy fuller health like most advanced countries of the world. We could successfully eradicate some diseases and ensure our women and children live healthier. This is a task we must all work for.
Abraham wrote from Abuja