MPs call for measures to reduce maternal mortality

PAGE 16, JUNE 3, 2009
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
SOME Members of Parliament (MPs) yesterday expressed concern about the country’s estimated maternal mortality figure of 214 deaths per 100,000 births and called for measures to reduce the situation.
They were contributing to a statement made on the floor of Parliament by the MP for Savelugu, Hajia Salifu Mary Boforo, on the struggle by women to overcome maternal mortality in the country.
In her statement, the MP stated that maternal mortality had accounted for an average of 10,000 deaths in the country over the last 10 years.
She said health experts estimated that if the trend continued till 2015, about 12,000 more deaths would occur and 1,000 more women and children would suffer disabilities.
Hajia Boforo expressed worry about the deplorable conditions of the various maternity wards in the various hospitals across the country.
She stated that in most of those wards, beds were woefully inadequate, thereby compelling two or three mothers with babies to share one bed while those in labour sat on benches waiting for some colleagues to be discharged in order to occupy their beds.
The MP said the situation could be worse, particularly at the local level, where access to health care delivery was a serious challenge due to poor road network, lack of transportation and non-availability of expert staff.
“I appeal to the government and other stakeholders to put in more efforts to address this avoidable menace”, she said.
Contributing to the statement, the MP for Tarkwa-Nsuaem, Mrs Gifty Kusi, said the issue about 214 deaths per 100,000 births was debatable since the World Health Organisation had also quoted 500 deaths per 100,000 births for Ghana.
She called on the government to attach more importance to the issue on maternal mortality to enable the country to achieve the fifth Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality by three-quarters by 2015.
For his part, the Deputy Minority Leader and MP for Lawra/Nandom, Mr Ambrose Dery, called for more attention to be devoted to the traditional birth attendants (TBAs) to enable them to cater for the inadequacies of the health sector in the rural areas.
The MP for Evalue-Gwira, Mrs Catherine Abelema Afeku, drew the attention of the House to the issue of teenage pregnancy, which she said had contributed to the country’s poor maternal mortality.
In another development, the Chairman of the Health Committee of Parliament and MP for Ayawaso East, Alhaji Dr Mustapha Ahmed, made a statement to commemorate the World No Tobacco Day, which fell on May 31.
He enumerated the harmful effects of tobacco and called for the passage of the a law to ban smoking in all public places.
“We need to be role models and good mentors by not smoking or quitting smoking if we take passion in it. We need to carry the message on the harmful effects of tobacco usage to our constituents in schools, bars and public gatherings”, he stressed.
Dr Ahmed’s statement was supported by the MP for Dome-Kwabenya, Professor Mike Oquaye, and the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, who also called for measures to ban smoking in public places since the practice was harmful to the health of non-smokers.
The Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Shirley Ayitey, also made history at yesterday’s sitting as the first minister of the current administration to appear before the House to answer a question posed by the MP for Mampong, Mr Francis Addai-Nimoh.
The MP had asked the minister what measures were being taken to address the continuing fishing in the polluted Fosu Lagoon in Cape Coast.
In her answer, the minister stated that the ministry, through the Environmental Protection Agency, cautioned the general public and fishermen of the high risk they were exposed to through the direct contact with water in the lagoon and possibly eating fish from it.
She said that the solution to the problem laid in addressing the causes of contamination from the upper catchment to improve the water quality and thereby enabling fishermen to obtain wholesome fish.
Ms Ayittey appealed to the House to give the ministry a bit more time to solicit funding to implement its programme to solve the problem.