Maternal deaths: Governors tell government to rethink decision on deliveries

Governors now want the National Government, through the Ministry of Health to immediately rethink its directive on funding dispensaries for deliveries, saying the move has contributed to an increase in maternal deaths in the recent past.

According to governors, the stand restricting level two facilities from carrying out deliveries has led to a sharp decline in the number of expectant women seeking skilled deliveries thus contributing to deaths.

Data from a freshly launched dashboard that links information from all the 47 counties on maternal and perinatal death surveillance response (MPDSR), shows the need for serious collaboration between the devolved units to reduce mother and child mortality.

As of today, 21,294 Perinatal deaths have been recorded.

Data from the dashboard also shows that 924 women have died while giving birth or from child birth complications.

“Mothers across our counties trust our health system. They walk into our facilities with confidence, knowing they are in safe hands, the hands of our dedicated healthcare workers. We therefore have a sacred duty to meet their expectations and provide the best possible care that upholds life, dignity, and hope for every mother and child,” said Governor Muthomi Njuki.

The dashboard launched today in Nairobi, developed by the Council of Governors, in conjunction with key development partners in the health sector, gives real-time data on MPDSR with the ability for counties to share challenges and successes for purposes of improving the general wellfare.

“Every mother we lose is one too many, every new-born gone is a future denied. In Bungoma, we continue to invest in neonatal care, staff training, and community outreach. Through MPDSR, we aim to strengthen accountability, promote learning, and ensure safer births for all,” said Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka.

Governors insist that the national government must rescind their directive demanding that level 2 facilities don’t carry out deliveries.

This directive has this far deprived the facilities of about KSh2.5 billion shillings from SHA and brought down the number of women seeking skilled deliveries in hospitals, resulting to home births
Consequently, the move to restrict maternal services at L2 facilities risks reversing gains made in skilled birth delivery even further; for the last FY for example, a drop in skilled birth deliveries has been reported in Counties like Kisumu from 89% to 69% and Nairobi from 100% to 80%.

“As governors, we take leadership in addressing existing gaps and investing in health systems that protect mothers and newborns. In Tharaka Nithi and across all our counties, we reaffirm our commitment to EWENE -Ending Preventable Maternal and Newborn Deaths and ensuring that every mother and every newborn not only survives but thrives. Together, we will make preventable deaths a thing of the past,” Njuki noted.

The council of governors has also dispelled the notion that there is a war between the national and county governments on matters health, insisting that health is a devolved function.