East, Central, Southern African Commonwealth Countries Call For Increasing Funds To Health Sector For Women's Services

East, Central, Southern African Commonwealth Countries Call For Increasing Funds To Health Sector For Women's Services

Members of Commonwealth countries in East, Central and Southern Africa at a conference in Munyonyo, Uganda, agreed to recommend that governments increase budget allocations to health sectors to enable women access to emergency obstetric care without paying medical service fees, Uganda's Monitor reports. Representatives from Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia agreed to the recommendations, which included:

* Eliminating medical service fees for pregnant women;

* Institutionalizing deliveries and maternal death audits;

* Remuneration for medical workers; and

* Strengthening training for midwifery services.


In addition, the recommendations called for developing ways to empower women to seek health services without relying on their husbands and bringing health services closer to women to reduce maternal mortality. According to the representatives, a lack of funds for health services in the region is inhibiting countries from preventing obstetric emergencies -- such as hemorrhaging, obstructed labor, sepsis and eclampsia -- and has led to an increase in maternal mortality.

The three-day conference was organized by the Commonwealth Secretariat and its Health Section and Social Transformation Programmes Division in collaboration with the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (Nafula, Monitor, 6/11).

source : www.medicalnewstoday.com