Health Minister wants men held responsible for maternal mortality

SOUTHERN PROVINCE HUYE — The minister of Health Dr Richard Sezibera has said that men should also be held responsible for the failure of their spouses to go for ante-natal checkups that results in maternal mortality. Addressing community health advisors drawn from the Huye district, Dr Sezibera asked them to work with dedication, saying that there is no fitting reward for saving lives. “You should be proud of your work. Government recognises what you are doing and will continue to support you to make your working conditions better,” said Sezibera. The minister said that infant and maternal mortality rates remain high and that husbands have an important role to play in turning the situation around. “Spouses and the community should take responsibility for maternal deaths. They should be at the forefront in encouraging pregnant women to seek antenatal checkups and giving birth from hospitals and health centres,” said the Minister. The interim demographic health survey conducted in 2007-2008 shows that infant mortality stands at 62 per 1,000 live births, while 103 children out of 1,000 die before attaining the age of five. The 2005 demographic health survey shows that 750 women out of 100, 000 die while giving birth. The district has 1,061 community health advisors and 508 birth attendants who serve in the different health centres in the district. They are instrumental in administering malaria treatment to children below the age of 5. The advisors are also tasked with spearheading family planning, hygiene, Voluntary Counselling and Testing campaigns and other health interventions like use of mosquito nets in homes. Minister Sezibera warned community health advisors against misappropriating mutual health insurance policy funds. “This money should be left to serve its purpose,” he said. The warning comes after revelations that funds from the scheme were embezzled by local government officials especially in the districts of Rusizi and Ngoma. Over 70 people implicated in the scam have so far been arrested. During the meeting held at the Huye stadium, community health advisors expressed the need for more staff in district hospitals and health centres. They said that available workforce was overstretched and lacked vital equipment to do their work. They decried the long distances (in some cases over 10kilometres) patients have to trek to reach the nearest health centres. The Minister promised to look into the problem. Speaking during the same meeting, the Governor of the Province, Fidele Ndayisaba called upon community health advisors to encourage pregnant women to give birth in hospitals so that they can be followed up closely in the case of complications. He called for proper hygiene in homes and the sensitisation of communities on the importance of family planning. Ends