By Kemo Cham
[First Published on www.politicosl.com] The Ministry of Health and
Sanitation has unveiled a programme aimed at providing real time information
and data to inform the management of maternal deaths in the country.
The Maternal Death Surveillance
Response (MDSR), according to health officials, would help to provide missing
information on maternal deaths for evidence based actions countrywide, so as to
enable authorities utilize existing resources and recommend life-saving
interventions.
Sierra Leone currently has one of
the highest rates of maternal deaths in the world. According to the World
Health Organisation’s 2015 figures, the country is among the top 10 countries
in the world with the highest maternal mortality ratios (MMR), estimated at
1,360 deaths per 100,000 live births.
The MoHS estimates that 2,400 women
do not survive pregnancy and or child birth every year.
Despite the huge spending by
government and partners, “the situation remains very challenging,” Dr. Santigie
Sesay, Director of Reproduction and Child Health, MoHS, said at the inaugural
meeting of the MDSR last week. He declared that it was unacceptable for any
woman to die while giving birth.
The MoHS say maternal deaths that
occur within communities are usually not recorded, or when obstetric
complications occur, it was often too late to save the mother.
MDSR is a form of continuous
surveillance that links the health information system and quality improvement
processes from local to national level. It involves routine identification,
notification, qualification and determination of causes of all maternal deaths.
The information generated is then used to respond appropriately to prevent
further deaths.
Dr. Sesay cited the cause of death
by women as failure to recognize danger signs, poverty which makes it difficult
for people to undertake medical expenses, and reluctance by the mother or
family to seek medical care. He also blamed inadequate awareness of existing
services, as well as shortages of supplies such as emergency medicines or blood
as contributing factors to the situation.
Dr Sesay said some of the women die
because of inaccessibility to family planning commodities and deliveries by
unskilled workers, mostly Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), which increase
chances of complications and lead to preventable deaths.
(C) Politico 09/02/16
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