Delayed decisions killing more mums

Norah Matovu Winyi (New Vision)-- The East African Caravan on maternal health organised by Abantu for Development, the African Women’s Development and Communications Network and the United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC) Against Poverty arrived in Kampala on 14 July 2010.

Flagged off by the United Nations Resident Representative in Kenya, Aeneas

Chuma, in Kibera, an informal urban settlement in Nairobi City, the East

African Caravan moved with determination to reach out and impact the lives of over 50 million people in East Africa.

The reception in Kampala was a relatively low-key affair due to the week of mourning declared in memory of 76 victims killed in the Kampala bomb blasts. Relating the number of deaths in the Kampala bomb blasts (76 lives lost) to the number of women who die on a daily basis (about 725 women die in a day), at least 30 women die every hour in sub- Saharan Africa due to pregnancy or child birth related complications.

Insufficient income and inadequate support from spouses were highlighted as lead causes of delays that women experience before seeking ‘medical’ attention. Use of services of traditional birth attendants (TBAs) is still rampant. For the majority of women in East Africa to realise their right to health, provision of quality and accessible maternal health services must be prioritised.

Launching the East Africa Caravan on maternal health in Kibera was symbolic in that this is one of the areas in Africa and EA, in particular, where many people are faced with and affected by the problem of maternal mortality on a daily basis.

From Kenya, the EA Caravan journeyed onto Arusha, Tanzania, which has a very poor road and communication network, limited access to information for ordinary people, high levels of poverty and generally very poorly facilitated health centres. The issue of family planning and education were mentioned as critical in Arusha.

Adolescent pregnancies are common and large families contribute to poor health. This has created the vicious cycle of poverty and poor health leading to high rates of maternal mortality. Schools were visited, while in Arusha, to have dialogue on the importance of education in promoting maternal and child health. The young girls and boys made the Caravan message more urgent.

In Arusha and Mwanza, many women narrated terrible stories of regret about home deliveries, which resulted into the loss of their babies. A number of them indicated they have not been able to conceive since then.

In Kigali, Rwanda, the Caravan found a country where things seem to be moving in the right direction. The road network across the country was good; the environment was very clean and free of litter and unattended filth.

The medical facilities visited were a beacon of hope. Kigali, among the four countries, had the best rated hygiene as far as environmental management is concerned. Everyone seems to be a leader in his or her own right and they take responsibility to maintain a clean environment as a basic requirement for good health, hygiene and sanitation.

The large public rallies organised at Katuna, Kabale, Mbarara and Masaka in Uganda provided unprecedented opportunities to educate people on how to promote maternal health using music, dance and drama.

The message was ‘Everyone – men, women, boys and girls – each one has to ensure that no woman dies while giving life.’ Unfortunately, it is in Uganda, that the Caravan team witnessed the death of a mother and her unborn child due to obstructed labour. A young woman of about 40 years old carrying her seventh pregnancy was brought to Mbarara Hospital after being in labour for two days.

Her uterus had ruptured and she was lying on a mattress on the floor waiting to receive the emergency services she urgently needed to save her life. One moment she was alive, the next moment she was dead. She is one of the 30 women who died that hour on 13 July 2010.

The delay in accessing the health facility and skilled personnel, and the delay of about two hours from the time she got to hospital cost this woman her life. Sadly the delay in decision making to bring the woman to a health facility instead of waiting for two whole days while in labour led to the loss of two lives.

The many people the Caravan team interacted with on this journey sent a strong message to the health ministers and heads of state at the African

Union summit. The message was ‘No woman should die while giving birth’.

*The author is executive director, African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET)

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