Two non-governmental organisations in Edo State are to embark on a joint pilot enlightenment campaign against high maternal mortality

The Women’s Health Action Research Centre, WHARC, a non-governmental organization responsible for women reproductive health, has decried the increase in maternal mortality among rural women in Edo State. Osasu Aigbogun, programme officer of WHARC, blamed this on ignorance on the part of expectant mothers who fail to patronise primary health care centres spread across the state. Aigbogun   was in Benin City recently for the launching of the T.Y Danjuma Foundation Maternal Alleviation, DAFOMA, project in collaboration with WHARC to roll-back cases of maternal mortality in three pilot communities in Edo State.

 According to her, hospital statistics from Edo State indicates that maternal mortality ratio is currently higher than the national average. “Maternal mortality ratio is reported to be 2,760 per 100,000 live birth deliveries.”  She described the trend as alarming and identified the  major causes  as HIV/AIDs, post-partum haemorrhage, eclampsia, prolonged obstruction labour and puerperal infection. Puerperal infection is a bacterial infection that occurs after child birth. According to her, WHARC, evidence indicate that the most important background cause of high rate of maternal mortality in Edo State is women’s socio-economic vulnerability, consisting of poverty and inability of pregnant women to pay for evidence-based maternal services. Consequently, most maternal deaths occur in the state because women deliver in unlicensed private maternal homes, primary health centres with limited clinical facilities and in homes of traditional birth attendants, where the cost is cheaper but quality of care is compromised.”

In a bid to curb the situation, Aigbogun explained that WHARC has upgraded three primary health care centres, PHCs, in designated rural communities. The communities include Urhonigbe, Oligie and Evbuonogbon in Orhionmwon local government area of Edo State. They are fully equipped to provide free maternal care thereby reducing the high rate of maternal morbidity and mortality among the rural women.  She said that the centre would also provide transport and communication to link rural women experiencing serious complications of pregnancy to secondary and tertiary care centres for sophisticated care.

The project, which is being funded by the T.Y Danjuma Foundation, would also cater for capacity building of PHC workers and public health education to promote the use of evidence based maternity care by pregnant women and the training of traditional birth attendants, TBAs, on the need for early referral of women experiencing pregnancy complications. The programme officer therefore called on both rural women and the benefiting communities to make good use of the PHCs in their localities.