Kano Worries Over Maternal, Perinatal Mortality Rate

Kano Government said it is worried about the rate of maternal and perinatal deaths in the state.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa dropped the hint in a two-day Bi-annual Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) Review Meeting, held in Kaduna State.

MPDSR is a systematic analysis of quality of care that includes diagnosis, treatment, care and outcome for patients to assess the extent to which patients were served or not with specified standards of care within the facility.

The Information Officer, Ministry of Health, Ibrahim Abdullahi in a statement said Dr Tsanyawa explained that the government is doing a lot in addressing maternal morbidity and mortality as well as the mortality of under five children.

"We all know that health centres are the primary points of contact with a patient. These facilities are very much closer to the communities that provide easy access to healthcare delivery to the people.

"We all know that these facilities have for long been dilapidated, resulting in creating a vacuum in health service delivery and causing a delay in access to care to the patients. 

"That is why Governor Ganduje is doing tremendously to revitalize these facilities in line with the minimum package policy of the Federal Ministry of Health," he added.

The Commissioner revealed that the government has established a state-owned teaching hospital to be training doctors, in addition to the commencement of residency training especially in obstetrics and gynaecology in the same facility with a view to ensure that specialist care is provided to the people of the state.

Dr Tsanyawa also commended the participants for having time to participate in the workshop despite their tight schedules, saying, "this has portrayed your passion, concern and zeal to see the reduction of maternal morbidity and mortality as well as the mortality of under-five children in our dear state."

Enumerating the objectives of the workshop, the Director of Public Health and Disease Control of the Ministry, Dr Ashiru Rajab represented by the Programme Manager of Leprosy and Tuberculosis, Dr Ibrahim Aliyu Rano, said that it is aimed at disseminating findings from the quarterly mentoring of facilities MPDSR process and major causes of maternal and perinatal death in Kano State as reported by various primary and secondary health facilities and to link MPDSR with findings from integrated supportive supervision, logistics and supply chain management.

Others, according to him, is to develop an action plan to avert future maternal and perinatal death and to strengthen the community MPDSR implementation in the state.