NGAMILAND REMARKABLY REDUCES MATERNAL DEATHS

FROM once the third leading district with maternal mortality ratio of 321 deaths per 100 000 live births in 2016, Ngamiland has made a turnaround and remarkable progress in reaching the target of reduction in maternal deaths in women and girls.

Head of the District Health Management Team (DHMT), Dr Sandra Maripe, says in 2020 the district was boasting only 79 deaths per 100 000 live births, which she said was way below the national record of 166 deaths per 100 000 live births in 2019.

Because of the maternal reduction project that yielded good results, the district was this year chosen to host country celebration on World Patient Safety Day, whose theme was “Safe Maternal and Newborn Care.

Speaking at the event in Maun,

Maripe explained, “In absolute numbers, we have managed to reduce our deaths from at least nine to three in the past four years.”

One of the effective methods the district explored in its quest to save lives includes the “half way home”, a maternity waiting ward at Moeti clinic in Maun where women from hard-toreach areas are admitted and cared for before and where needed after delivery.

“In response to the high number of born before arrivals (BBAS) from long distance to health facilities, poor terrains and road networks and possibly of wildlife attack, Ngami DHMT identified Moeti clinic to host women from hardto-reach areas like Kareng, Somelo and Mababe,” Maripe further explained.

Poor terrain, gravel roads that connect most settlements to Maun are known to be negatively impacting on timely provision of emergency obstetric care services including increasing risk of poor maternal health outcomes. Some settlements are over 150 kilometres from Maun and only connected by rough gravel roads.

“The lessons that we learnt in reducing maternal deaths will not only inspire other districts but assist them in making institutional arrangements that will support implementation of quality improvements in maternal health,” Maripe further boasted.

The quality improvement interventions implemented by the district, however, were successful in reducing maternal deaths, not newborn deaths, and Maripe believes similar approaches have potential to work towards reduction of newborn deaths and will benefit both mother and the newborn.

In 2019, Ngami registered 67 stillbirths while in 2020 it registered 88.

Meanwhile, last week Friday, the Department of Roads admitted that many of the roads in the district are in “badly damaged” conditions and that they intend to gravel bad spots in the third quarter of 2021/22 financial year, however, sourcing of material is a challenge to the department,” and that currently the roads will be maintained by grading.