By Friday Simbaya, Iringa
Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in the country have been urged to allocate budget to reproductive services in the year 2017/18 in order to reduce labour complications and lack of quality care.
Many of these deaths can be prevented with adequate investment in Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC).
The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood Tanzania (WRA Tanzania) information and communications officer, Anna SAWAKI made the statement yesterday during the meeting to discuss the reducing maternal mortality and infant mortality.
The meeting attracted Njombe, Mbeya, Songwe and Iringa regions where some of its members were regional medical officers (RMOs), regional planning officer and regional administrative secretaries of the relevant administrations.
She said that the budget also should not be used for other activities in order to save the lives of 11,000 women and 66,000 children from maternal complications every year.
Sawaki said that community and their representatives as well as MPs and councilors to oversee the budget increase for Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC and ensure the proper use of the budget in their areas.
She asked for the government through the Ministry of Health to improve the health centers so they can provide full service for emergency for 24 hours.
She added that 30 mothers and 180 children die each day due to maternal problems according to Demographic and Health Survey 2015-16.
According to the acting Njombe regional medical officer (RMO) Dr. Eusebius Kessy, the state of health of mother and child and pregnant women who deliver at health centers is 96.1% percent.
Dr Kessy said that there is lack of skilled personnel, especially in terms of family planning services and emergency (CEmONC) program which stands at is 32.3 percent.
He said that there is a scarcity of skilled personnel to provide emergency care and essential services for mothers and children (BEmONC, CEmONC) program.
For his part, university lecturer of Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), Professor Barnabas Pembe, who is also an expert in obstetrics and gynecology said Tanzania continued to be an average of 500 deaths per 100,000 births.
Prof. Pembe explained that those figures are there since the 1990s, what he said requires a conscious effort to reduce deaths and added many more women deliver at the hospitals.
He said he favored making there is need to prove adequate awareness about the danger and signs that pregnant may experience during delivery and what symptoms or risks that emerge when a woman is in labour.
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