The Lower River Regional Health Directorate of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Sunday held its maternal death audit in Mansakonko.
The meeting brought together health workers from different health centres and other stakeholders across the region.
The Lower River Regional Director of Health, Momodou Lamin Manneh, said the review was meant to depict their sincere objective of reducing maternal deaths and child mortality.
“The focus is for us to go the extra mile to ask ourselves in the health point of view the reasons why maternal deaths occur in our health facilities,” he said.
He disclosed that the region is currently challenged with 30 per cent woman in labour failing to report to the health facilities.
In his introductory speech, Juma Jallow, Regional Principal Nursing Officer for the Lower River Region, pointed out that the number of women dying in labour is high globally including The Gambia.
According to him, the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) of 2013 by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare showed that 433 maternal deaths occurred in every 1000,000 live births.
He said the Lower River Region recorded 7 maternal deaths from January 2014 to date.
On the importance of the exercise, Mr Jallow stated that regular review of cases is a giant step in reducing maternal death.
He noted that since every woman who wishes to bear a child does not escape maternal mortality, it is important to interpret with proofs that pregnancy is not a disease.
The governor of the Lower River Region, Salieu Puye, hailed the exercise of the regional health workers in pursuance of MDG 4 & 5.
Despite the size of the country, he said, it was a valuable theme for health workers to be prepared to deliver quality health services.
He used the opportunity to call on the communities in his region to respond to the ongoing sensitization for more institutional deliveries.
He further challenged care-givers to push harder on maternal care irrespective of the condition they work in and is only God, he said, who would satisfy them with rewards.
