Stakeholders, UNICEF push for laws to curb maternal, child mortality in Bauchi

Stakeholders in the health sector of Bauchi State have expressed worry over the increasing mortality rate of pregnant women who neglect going to health facilities for skilled childbirth but choose to give birth at home.

Consequently, the state government is considering legislation that will control the increasing rate of childbirth at home, which poses danger to the health of mothers and babies.

Available data from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) revealed that only three out of 10 women deliver at the various health facilities across the state representing 31 per cent, while the remaining seven, which represent 69 per cent, deliver at home.

Further reports have it that for antenatal, out of 100, 57 pregnant women attend antenatal but end up delivering at home, leading to a high mortality rate.

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Stakeholders in the state’s health sector expressed worry and called for action to reverse the trend.

To check the trend, State Ministries of Budget, Economic Planning and Multilateral Coordination, as well as Health, Primary Health Care Development Board, House of Assembly, chairpersons of local government councils and civil society organisations are charting a path to tame the maternal mortality rate.

Speaking at a 2-day high level engagement with the state, local government policy makers and legislators toward improving sexual reproductive health and right, maternal newborn child healthcare and nutrition, a health specialist with UNICEF, Oluseyi Olosunde, noted that it is pertinent for stakeholders to find solution to reduce the maternal and child mortality in the state.

He urged the state to scale up funding for adolescent, sexual and reproductive health, maternal and child issues.

According to him, the indices call for policymakers’ urgent action.

Also speaking, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, the Executive Chairman, Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Board (BSPHDB), said that the board realised that there were lots of women who attended antenatal care but decided to deliver at home, which he said could lead to complications and contributed to maternal and child mortality in the state.

“We have decided to bring everybody on board –the speaker of the House of Assembly and his members, the local government policy makers and others to look at our budgeting and releases.

“The issue of maternal and child mortality is our concern. We are also tackling gender, sexual and reproductive health rights and nutrition.

“Over the years, our budget has been above the Abuja declaration of 15 per cent for health, but we are taking more steps ahead to ensure that it really translates to target goals.

“One of the suggestions made was that the state should have legislation that will compel women to attend antenatal and deliver in health facilities.

“If a woman fails to attend antenatal or deliver in a health facility, there should be a penalty either by monetary fines or a jail term because she is jeopardising the lives of our children and that of herself,” he said.

Also speaking, Chief of Field, UNICEF, Bauchi Field Office, Dr Nuzhat Rafique, said if such a law is made, nobody can stop women from going for antenatal or delivering in the hospital.

Rafique who expressed worry over the high level of maternal-child mortality in the state, said with support from the Canadian Government through Global Affair Canada (GAC), UNICEF is embarking on sexual reproductive health rights of adolescent girl’s project that focuses on empowering and educating them to become the healthy mothers of the future, which would automatically reduce maternal and child mortality in the state.

She explained that UNICEF is working with health stakeholders, traditional and religious leaders, to ensure that women are aware of health services needed to be accessed during pregnancy for safe delivery, as well as post delivery services they need to access.

The CFO added that, “We are starting from the root cause, and we are working on the access to health services for pregnant mothers. A pregnant mother should deliver in a safe environment with quality care, which can reduce a lot of newborn and maternal mortality at the same time.

“This advocacy meeting is with all the Bauchi state House of Assembly members, with all the 20 Local Government Chairmen in the state, traditional and religious leaders and all the people who are working at the LGA and hospital levels.”

The Speaker, Bauchi State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Abubakar Suleiman, expressed discomfort with health indices, saying that data represent the true situation of things in the state, while vowing to strengthen the legislative oversight function of the House to ensure that the relevant ministries, departments and agencies deliver effective service to people.

“All these things are people’s rights and not even a privilege. What we are considering is to come up with a law that will force women to adhere to antenatal activities so as to reduce the maternal and child mortality we are facing in the state,” he said.