At int’l fair on mother & child health: Director of Family Health calls for urgent action against maternal mortality.

Dr Ebongo made the appeal in Yaounde Friday May 26. He was speaking at the opening of the International Fair on Mother and Child Health, known by its French acronym, SIMAPE. The ongoing fair will run till June 3. 

The Secretary General in the Ministry of Public Health, Prof Louis Richard Njock, opened discussions on behalf of health Minister, Dr Manaouda Malachie. 

Speaking on the indicators of maternal and child health in Cameroon, Dr Ebongo noted that despite the slight progress made in improving mother and child health in Cameroon, incidents of maternal mortality are still disturbing.

The celebrated medic noted that the wellbeing of the mother and the child are part of government’s health priority. He nonetheless underscored the need for synergy with national and international stakeholders to improve the situation.

From 782 deaths recorded per 100,000 births in 2011 to 467 deaths per 100,000 births in 2018, Dr Ebongo said, the figures show there is still need for urgent action to further improve the situation. 

For children within the age bracket of zero to five years, the Director said statistics puts the mortality rate at 48 per 100,000. Added to this, adolescent deaths linked to childbearing, Dr Ebongo noted, stands at 26 percent. 

He also cited the lack of family planning, Gender-Based Violence and other discriminatory practices as contributing to worsen the situation.

On incidents of women who suffer from obstetric fistula due to childbirth, he disclosed that only 1.13 percent of those affected get adequate treatment.

Through government’s National Development Strategy, SND30, the Director of Family Health noted that, the redynamistation of a multi-sectorial approach to improve the wellbeing of the mother and child in Cameroon can be improved.

Urgent need for impact strategies  

While expressing gratitude to high hierarchy and the government for pushing through the fair to improve on mother and child health, Dr Ebongo maintained that the ongoing international gathering is the product of at least a year’s work.

He told reporters that: “The time to act is now. It is very imperative that we take high impact strategies towards curbing the high rate of infant and maternal mortality in our country and at the same time, making sure that the health of the mother and child is taken care of”.

The internationally-acclaimed ophthalmologist averred that there is need for every stakeholder to come on board. 

“It is very important that everyone should come on board and see what we can give as in puts so that together, we will have a healthy society of women of childbearing age and also very healthy infants, neonates and adolescents,” he said. 

The scribe of the Ministry of Public Health, Prof Djock, remarked that, the figures presented point to the need for urgent work at all level to address challenges.

Filling the gaps, working together

Despite having several actors working to address the issue before now, Dr Ebongo underscored that through the ongoing fair, they are seeking to further harness efforts and fill the gaps to roll back the ugly statistics related to maternal and child health in Cameroon.

Going by Dr Ebongo, “the missing link is that we need to harness all our efforts and fill the gaps. We need to fill them so that those in the private sector; civil society, those in the public sector, those in the industrial sectors and anywhere can be able to come with ideas, logistics and financial support so that together, we can be able to get the necessary resources to push the agenda  or maternal  and child health forward”.

Need for resource mobilisation, distribution

The Technical Secretary of the National Program to Combat Neonatal and Child Maternal Mortality, Dr Mintop Anicet Desire, in a presentation underscored the need for actors to work together.

Dr Mintop said there is need to mobilise resources and distribute it through an establish network for the benefit of all in the maternal mortality chain.

 Dr Mintop cited the Health in All Projects, HiAP, scheme which warrants that decision makers prioritise health in every project. The medic said stakeholders need to work as a team to curb infant mortality.

The Committee Against maternal mortality, he said, needs to be made workable. Teams, he said, should be put in place at the level of regions to ensure effective follow up and information sharing.

Fabien Ogono, the Regional Coordinator of Plan International lauded the fair. He noted that there is need for team work and innovation to improve the situation. Life, Ongono said, has no price, nothing that the challenge is the absence of provision which requires everyone’s contribution.

The Coordinator of SIMAPE, Dr Dimitri Ebong highlighted that, the goal is to rally actors such as mayors and regional assemblies to embrace the crusade to improve mother and child health.