Uganda commits to improving maternal health care
Every year, worldwide, 303,000 women die during pregnancy and childbirth, 2.7 million babies die during the first 28 days of life and 2.6 million babies are stillborn. Uganda and eight other countries have committed to halving preventable deaths of pregnant women and newborns in their health facilities within the next 5 years. The other countries … Continued
High maternal mortality: Where is the problem?
By Joseph Wasswa The country was awakened by the unfortunate death of a mother in Mityana Hospital having bled out (Post-partum Hemorrhage) due lack of a blood giving set at the hospital. This is one of the many causes of maternal mortalities that have robbed us of our mothers leading to the observed high maternal … Continued
Ubos survey: Maternal, infant death rates drop
Kampala- The numbers of mothers who die while giving birth has reduced from 438 to 368 deaths per 100, 000 live births. The latest figures are contained in the 2016 Uganda Health Demographic and Health Survey released yesterday by Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) officials. The survey conducted between June 12 and December 18 last … Continued
Busoga hospitals get Shs150m equipment
Makerere University School of Public Health in collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco, has donated equipment estimated at Shs155m to six hospitals in Busoga sub-region. The hospitals are; Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, Iganga General Hospital, Bugiri General Hospital, Kamuli General Hospital, Kamuli Mission Hospital and St Francis Buluba Mission Hospital in Mayuge District. … Continued
Nine countries commit to halve maternal and newborn deaths in health facilities
New WHO and UNICEF-supported network to improve care for mothers and babies On February 14 of 2017, 9 countries – Bangladesh, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda – committed to halving preventable deaths of pregnant women and newborns in their health facilities within the next 5 years. Through a new Network … Continued
‘Sometimes the baby dies, sometimes the mother’: Life and death in Yemen’s hospitals
The infant was barely breathing when his uncle brought him to the hospital in a cardboard box. He was wrapped in a blue towel, and wads of cotton were stuffed around his frail body to keep him warm. Muhammad Haithem was just hours old, born two months premature.His mother had gone into labor when an … Continued
The Women of Rural Zambia Walk Miles to Give Birth
“I had to use a blanket to cover myself and the whole time I was worried an animal would come and take my baby.” Hariane hadn’t heard the expression “Life is about the journey, not the destination.” To this modest young mother living in rural Zambia, her life, and that of her newborn daughter, was very … Continued
Breastfeeding a matter of human rights, say UN experts, urging action on formula milk
Breastfeeding is a human rights issue for babies and mothers and should be protected and promoted for the benefit of both, a group of United Nations experts says in a statement* made public today. States should take urgent action to stop the “misleading, aggressive and inappropriate” marketing of breast-milk substitutes in a multi-billion-dollar global industry.
Nigeria gets action plan to cater for sick newborns
The Federal Government has launched three new policy documents to tackle health of newborns. They are Nigeria Every Newborn Action Plan, Essential Newborn Care Course (ENCC) training package and National Chlorhexidine Scale Up Strategy document. The action plan is to serve as a roadmap that focuses on packages of interventions that address care during labour, … Continued