Kaduna State Health officials under the umbrella of the Maternal and Peri-Natal Deaths Surveillance and Responses (MPDSR) have said that the state recorded about 123 maternal deaths out of 10,453 deliveries in 30 Secondary and Tertiary facilities between January and June this year.

This statistic was disclosed during the presentation of the synopsis of Kaduna mid-year 2018 of the MPDSR by its chairman, Malam Lawal Abubakar, to the Kaduna State Maternal Newborn and Child Health Accountability Mechanism (KADMAM) during the quarterly interactive forum “#openKadunaministryofhealth Sector” that took place in Kaduna recently.

According to Abubakar, a number of factors were responsible for the 123 deaths including post-partum haemorrhage, anaemia, sepsis, antepartum haemorrhage, eclampsia, ruptured uterus and embolism.

“One of KADMAM’s mandates is to use evidence to promote accountability and solicit for the elimination of preventable maternal and perinatal deaths in Kaduna State.”   

Abubakar added that during the investigation, “KADMAM identified that hospitals visited did not have ready-to-use blood due to the lack of state-owned blood supply chain system, non-functional blood banks due to epileptic power supply, non-functional ambulances for emergency referral patients and pregnant women with obstetric complications, and do not have Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA) for the successful management of incomplete abortion.

However, health experts have said that the number of women likely to die as a result of pregnancy or childbirth could be reduced drastically if the state Ministry of Health and Human Services can establish a mechanism that makes sure life-saving drugs and equipment are readily available in hospitals.

Guardian