By Kemo Cham
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
