The Kwara Government on Saturday began a positive committee for Maternal and Perinatal Deaths Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) on methods to reduce avoidable deaths of mothers and babies in the state.
Inaugurating the committee in Ilorin, Dr Atolagbe Alege, the state Commissioner for Health, said that the committee would find accumulated data on notifications of maternal and prenatal deaths in the state.
According to him, there are no adequate numbers on maternal and perinatal deaths in Kwara, and Nigeria as a whole, which makes it difficult to end such problems.
He said that measures needed to be taken to discuss with the legislature on proper laws and adequate budgetary allocation for the committee to achieve its aims and objectives.
“An estimated 33, 000 women die each year giving birth and at least seven newborns die and a further four babies stillborn,” she said.
Okesina said that researches on maternal deaths and perinatal mortality in Nigeria and elsewhere had shown that the leading causes of both were linked and preventable.
“This, however, necessitated the Federal Ministry of Health to mandate all the 36 states to embark on counting maternal and perinatal deaths.
“The goal is to look at those factors that cause deaths of mothers and their children,’’ Okesina said.
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