Source: New Democrat (Monrovia)
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Thursday disclosed that the rate of maternal mortality in the country is still high despite a five percent decrease. Maternal death, or maternal mortality, also "obstetrical death" is the death of a woman during or shortly after a pregnancy.

Maternal death is caused by hemorrhage (outpouring or inundation), blood clot, infection, unsafe abortion, high blood pressure and obstructed labor. It is responsible for the deaths of millions of women in Sub-Saharan Africa who go to give birth.

Most of its victims are adolescents, who face a higher risk of complications and death as a result of pregnancy than older women. Skilled care before, during and after childbirth are often recommended to save the lives of women and newborn babies. "One of several challenges that the Ministry is facing now is the high rate of maternal mortality in the country. Although there's a slight decrease in the rate of maternal deaths, the number is still high," disclosed Yah M. Zolia, Deputy Minister for Planning and Research, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW).

She made the disclosure Thursday in Monrovia at the Ministry of Information regular press briefing, where Health Minister Walter Gwenigale led an array of health officials to make report on MOHSW's achievements and challenges facing the country's health sector in the last six years, as well as revealing to the public its future plans. She added: "What this means is that out of every 100,000 women who go to give birth, 770 die. This report is slightly reduced from 994 in the past, but the figure is still considered to be too high because the standard set by the Millennium Development Goal-5 required that the risk of maternal mortality be reduced to 440 out of every 100,000 women who go to give birth," she said.

Minister Zolia said the Ministry is doing all in its might to ensure that maternal mortality is reduced in conformity with the MDG-5 set standard by 2015, which charges governments and policy makers with the duty to put in mechanisms that will reduce the rate of maternal deaths to 440 out of every 100,000 women who go to give birth. "We're doing our best to meet this condition. In order to effectively deal with this situation, we're also training more nurses and health workers in the country," she said. Minister Zolia disclosed that 41% of the country's population currently has access to health care delivery. She underscored the shortage and training of skilled health practitioners as one of several challenges facing Liberia's health sector. In 2011, a PMNCH Fact Sheet titled "Maternal mortality" under the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 revealed that every day, approximately 1,000 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth or about 350,000 deaths each year. In 2008, 358,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth. "99% of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries, in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Maternal mortality is higher in rural areas and among poorer and less educated communities" the report said. Despite the high rate of maternal deaths in the country, she said there's decline in other preventable diseases such as the reduction in HIV/AIDS amongst pregnant women from a previous record of 5.6% in 2006 to 2.6 in 2011, as well as the reduction in malaria prevalence from 66% in 2007 to 28% in 2011. She attributed the reduction in malaria prevalence to the MOHSW distribution of mosquito nets and mosquito spray to hundreds of thousands of households across the country. MOHSW's latest report on the reduction of malaria prevalence and other preventable diseases in the country also confirms Save The Children report in May of this year which also indicates a slight decline in infant mortality. "The latest newborn death rate in Liberia is a slight decline from a 2007 health report issued by the Liberia Demographic Health Survey which puts the country child mortality rate at 35%," Mr. Ranjan Poudyal, Save the Children Liberia Country Director, addressing a press conference back in May of this year, disclosed. He added: "A baby in Liberia, for example is 10 times more likely to die on its first day than a child born in UK. In Liberia 1st day mortality rate is 10/1,000 live while the newborn death rate is 27%. The total newborn death is 4,300 with about 1,500 newborn dying on the first day of birth. Thus, the first day newborn death is 13% of all under 5 deaths."

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