IT is estimated that five women die every day when giving birth in the country, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). UNFPA Asia Pacific Regional health economist Anderson Stanciole urged the Government to increase its investment in voluntary family services. “It is a critical area to think about in the economic development of the country. There is a lot at stake. (There are) about 1000 deaths per year, or five maternal deaths in PNG every day,” he said. PNG’s high maternal mortality ratio at 733 per 100,000 live births is among the highest in the world, according to the UNFPA. About 88 per cent of the deaths are due to the lack of skilled birth attendants and life-saving medicine.
“One maternal death is one too many,” Stanciole said. “No women should die giving birth. “The country programme is positioned to contribute to poverty, good health, quality education and gender targets, particularly to reduce preventable maternal deaths and ensure universal access is reproductive health services.” PNG has a low contraceptive prevalence rate, a high unmet need for family planning at, a low coverage of skilled birth attendance and a high HIV prevalence. This indicates that antenatal, reproductive health and family planning services in PNG must be improved. The country programme will be delivered in Central, Milne Bay, Eastern Highlands, Morobe and Bougainville upstream advocacy, capacity development and knowledge management interventions. Comments are closed.
|
Papua New Guinea Breaking NewsPapua New Guinea daily News updates Let Your Voice be heard: Submit your news articles, commentaries, letters , Photos, Media Releases etc to us on this email: pngfacts@gmail.com
Mining & PetroleumTop Links |