Evelyn Lirri
17 March 2008
Kampala — A health system deficient in basic facilities is to blame for the country's problem of maternal mortality,a population expert has said.
Dr Jotham Musinguzi,the Africa regional director for Partners in Population and Development,named the lack of required infrastructure and proper family planning services as key factors undermining attempts at reducing Uganda's maternal mortality rates.
Statistics from the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey conducted by the Ministry of Health indicate there are 435 deaths per every 100,000 live births among Ugandan women.
Speaking at the opening of the East African Reproductive Health Network annual meeting in Kampala last Friday, Dr Musinguzi said addressing critical issues of reproductive health will help improve development of the country.
The meeting was called to develop annual workplans for member countries of the Eastern Africa reproductive health networks.
The head of the Family Health department at the Population Secretariat, Dr Betty Kyaddondo said a high fertility and population growth rate, poor maternal and infant child indices are some of the challenges of reproductive health.
According to WHO, more than 500,000 women die every year during pregnancy and child delivery.
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