Need to tackle maternal mortality stressed

By BASHEER MUSTAPHA SANI

THE executive director of Community Health and Research Initiatives (CHRI), Dr. Aminu Magashi, has observed that despite the much orchestrated needs by the Nigerian populace to those in governance to tackle the level of maternal mortality ratio and other pregnancy related problems, mortality rate and life problems are still hampering the course toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
According to him, health is a fundamental human right not a privilege, stressing that development which is about people’s life can be measured by the level of maternal mortality ratio, under five mortality rate and life expectancy at birth.
Dr. Magashi who disclosed this at a press conference held at the Kano state NUJ secretariat last Thursday, lamented that Nigeria is accounting for 10 per cent of the global estimate of maternal death even though the population, was more in Kano, maternal mortality ratio is 1,700 per 100,000 live birth.
He said a research conducted recently at Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, eclampsia cases are seen everyday while some survived, majority of them died due to late reporting.
Dr. Magashi argued that the state targets to reduce maternal mortality ratio and under five mortality rate by 50 per cent and 20 per cent respectively by 2007 which seems unrealistic since there is no baseline date to measure progress..
According to him, free services is only being provided at the secondary health centres without the involvement of primary health centres been managed by local governments.
Dr. Magashi said that “failure of the primary health centres will continue to hamper on the need to address health needs to the populace because majority of these centres are devoid of skilled midwives, nurses, medical directors and facilities to respond to emergencies that will resuscitate patients for referral to secondary health centres.”
“As far as we are concerned as NGO workers, we have traversed all the 44 local governments of the state and acquire information of the sorry states of those centres,” he averred, lamenting that it is a very pathetic situation capable of causing one to shed tears.
He added that as a result of these findings and the urgent needs for the prompt adjustment to address the problems, the (CITR) has submitted a health and development memo to all state’s gubernatorial candidates for them to give health sector a priority when any of them emerged as the next governor.