By Sorie Ibrahim Fofanah
The Chief Minister, Dr.David Moinina Sengeh has urged the Ministry of Health to do all they could to reduce maternal mortality to Zero by 2038.
Sengeh made this call on the 2nd July 2024 at the Brookfields Hotel in Freetown at the launch of the Pregnancy Registration and Service Tracking (PReSTrack) app by the Ministry of Health together with the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI).
He highlighted statistics of maternal mortality dropping in 2020 to 443 from 717 in 2018 from every 100,000 live births and challenged health authorities to reduce those figures to zero by 2038.
He recalled how they launched the National Innovation and Digital Strategy using technology to drive healthcare improvement. “That same National Innovation and Digital Strategy speaks about hybrid technology, online and offline,” he emphasised, noting that the PReSTrack app which they have designed, will also be functional both online and offline.
Speaking about the PReSTrack, the Chief Minister noted it will help to hold health authorities accountable for the conditions of pregnant women, as they would use the app to monitor all hospital centers across the country to know the status of every pregnant woman. The app he added would address the issue of delays for pregnant women to access health facilities.
He pointed out how the Ministry of Health has a digital health policy, and an electronic medical record system.
In his statement, the Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby noted how everybody’s life matters to them, especially pregnant women.
He said there has been a drop in maternal mortality over the last 20 years, saying Sierra Leone was known as the “worst” place in the world to get pregnant’’.
He however promised that Sierra Leone is going to be “best” in the world to be pregnant and that the country is now one of the best in the whole region in terms of maternal mortality.
The Health Minister explained how they intend to reduce maternal mortality to 70 out of every 100,000 live births by 2030, but said it can only be achieved through what he termed as radical changes. ReSTrack, Demby said, is one of the tools that they would employ to achieve that because PReSTrack is going to make them monitor every pregnancy in the country.
He also pointed out how they want to “positively” influence the outcome of every pregnancy in the country, and that an emergency operation center would be set up which he added would be used to monitor every pregnancy throughout the country using PReSTrack.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Deputy Representative, Sibeso Mululuma described the PReSTack app as a transformative tool that she said would be used as a game changer in maternal mortality in the country.
Mululuma said the PReSTrack app seems to harness digital technology which she hoped would offer solutions to advance improvement in maternal mortality.
“We know that reducing maternal mortality is one of the world’s most pressing global challenges. Across the world, it is estimated over 800 women die from pregnancy and childbirth related causes every day,” she said. She added that the figure translates into 300,000 deaths every year.
She however noted that most of those deaths are preventable if women have access to critical healthcare before, during and after childbirth.
For them at the UNFPA, she said maternal health lies at the core of their mandate. “Our mission is to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted. Every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled,” she emphasised.
With collaboration with the Ministry of Health, she expressed their ambition to reduce maternal mortality to 300 out of every 100,000 live births by 2025, and is of the belief PReSTrack initiative will play a part in this regard.
Sengeh was appointed Chief Minister by President Julius Maada Bio in 2023. He previously served as Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education and Chief Innovation Officer for the Directorate Science, Technology Innovation (DSTI) from 2018-2023.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (10/07/24)
