High maternal mortality worries gov’t
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday March 14, 2022 06:00
In his recurrent and development budget proposal recently, Dikoloti said the situation has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“According to Statistics Botswana (2019), Botswana’s Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is estimated at 166.3 deaths per 100, 000 live births. This ratio (MMR) is more than double the average MMR of the SDG 2030 target of less than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births,” he said.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the situation; where a total of 134 maternal deaths were recorded in 2021. This figure is 54% higher than the figures recorded in 2019.”
He also said if the current MMR trend is anything to go by, Botswana will almost certainly fail to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target unless drastic measures are taken to reverse the trend.
As a way to curb the high number of cases, the minister said some measures have been instituted and these include revitalisation of Primary Health Care and strengthening Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH); preventive activities in key areas such as family planning, HIV prevention, male involvement in SRH, parent-child and partner communication; as well as addressing leading causes of gender-based violence (GBV). He said his ministry recognises that causes of maternal deaths emanate from different sectors and that the challenges are psycho-social, cultural, religious and economic factors.
“The development and launch of an Integrated Community Based Strategy have created a platform to conduct multi-sectoral consultative meetings of all stakeholders to address this national concern,” he said.
Furthermore, to address maternal deaths due to consequences of COVID-19 infections, he said pregnant women were part of the privileged groups that were prioritised during the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme in order to reduce 14 severity of the disease and this will continue during the 2022-2023 financial year.
He said his ministry remains committed to increasing capacity for the provision of Long-Acting Reversible Contraception and has since incorporated these into services provided to clients admitted for abortion care. He further pointed out that pre-packaged Emergency Contraception has been introduced in an effort to prevent early and unwanted pregnancies caused by challenges such as incest, sexual assault and GBV, early sexual debut and economic power dynamics within relationships.
Additionally, the minister said the health care workers as well as NGOs providing sexual and reproductive health services to the key populations including female sex workers and the general public are being educated on its availability and use.