The government should work to improve Maternal and child health

On wbs television talk show organized by FOWO DE

The first ever-African Youth Forum held in Kampala from 17th-19th July 2010 was a vital component of the African Union Summit. The forum enabled young people to discuss how Africa can improve the maternal and children health development. At the end of the forum, the youth developed a memorandum to African leaders, which was submitted to the leaders during the African Union Summit held in Kampala in the same month.

Seeing youth working together for such a noble cause was a sure sign that the next generation is in control and I was happy that I contributed to this cause. Being a self-motivated individual with a passion of fostering change in the lives of people, I did not hesitate when
FOWODE approached me to discuss strategies for achieving maternal and child health goals in Africa during a television talk show on WBS TV. I used this opportune moment to discuss how poverty, culture, and lack of education put women in powerless positions hindering them from making decisions on how many children one can give birth to, negotiate for safer sex or even access quality services.

In preparation for the talk show, I researched on Uganda and how it is faring in this aspect and what I found out was quite alarming. Statistics show that Uganda’s population growth is at 3.2%, making it one of the highest in the world, another fact was that Uganda’s fertility rate is at 6-9 children for every Ugandan mother. What I found most depressing was the fact that for every 100,000 mothers that give birth every year 435 do not make it out of the labour ward alive leaving their babies orphaned at that tender age.

Most mothers still do not have access to antenatal care services, others walk long distances when going to deliver, others due to lack of qualified personnel end up dying due to birth related complications. Statistics showed that only 32% of women who give birth in Uganda receive care from trained personnel and the majority gives birth at home or under the supervision of traditional birth attendants.

Governments need to invest in training and retaining health care personnel especially those who provide maternal health care services and allocate adequate resources to the health sector with a view to improving maternal health. Most health care centers have under qualified health personnel while others are understaffed. African countries should prioritize providing an attractive salary package for professionals to work in their countries to prevent them from moving to developed countries in search for greener pastures.

The fight to improve the status of women‘s health should not stop at the African Union Summit; it needs to come to our homes, communities, and organizational boardrooms so that we lobby governments to invest more resources in this area. I appreciate civil society organizations most especially FOWODE, who continue to champion the women’s cause, advocating for an improvement in resource allocation to key sectors that impact society’s health and education among others and who continue to fight for promoting gender equity and equality and making a difference in young people’s lives. Details:
 http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Letters/-/806314/1139556/-/109yhhg/-/index.html

By Ali Kaviri

FORMER MR. FOWODE