The Japanese Organisation for International Cooperation in Family Planning (JOICFP) has said Zambia still has an unacceptably high maternal mortality rate despite the declining global mortality ratio.
JOICFP Executive Director Ryoichi Suzuki said this during the official start up meeting for maternal newborn and child health One-Stop- Service project in Masaiti and Mpongwe Districts in Ndola today.
Mr. Suzuki said Zambia’s maternal mortality ratio stood at 398 per 100,000 live births which is 60 times higher than Japan.
Mr. Suzuki said more work needed to be done in delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted and every child birth should be safe.
He said some factors contributing to the high maternal mortality ratio in Zambia need to be tackled in order to achieve notable and sustainable reduction in maternal and child mortality rate.
He added that among the factors were long distances to the health facilities, little empowerment of women, poor community involvement with very weak linkage between the community and the health facility, logistic and resource constraints affecting quality of care.
He said poor environment at the health facility and unfriendly client services were leading to less utilisation of reproductive health service, coupled with male dominant societies.
Mr. Suzuki said among the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), maternal health was progressing least.
Mr. Suzuki said JOICFP is active in the field of population, reproduction health, rights and was striving at contributing to improve the health status of women, men and young people in developing countries.
The One-Stop Service Project will be implemented by PPAZ and the Zambian Government, which is aimed at becoming a good practice for comprehensive approach for improving the status of maternal newborn and child health in Zambia.
Look at the state of our country. With all the praying, where has religion gotten us?
Lets teach our children how to reason and stop accepting dogmatism as truth.
The heading is misleading. Can you edit it please?
While we have been brainwashing our children to be Christians; religion has not worked for us, I would suggest that we try something else now. It is said that the mark of a fôôl is one who keeps doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result.
Why don’t we try teaching our children to respect themselves, others and the environment? Why don’t we teach our children how to be disciplined in public? Why don’t we teach them how to be kind and forgiving? With all our churches, overnite prayers, miracle water, greedy pastors and forced brainwashing we are no closer to being good kind humans; time for a change because it seems like all this religion (Christianity) is making us fôôlishly ignorant and uncivilised.
I’ve been reading about a pastor, John Shrader, who has moved to Kafue with his large family to “save souls” and convert people to his “type” Christianity which believes that women should bear many children. The people who pay for him to live in Zambia are spending many thousands of dollars on luxuries for this pastor including an airplane, an expensive car and much more. So much $ but he does nothing for the people of Zambia. Other people feel that if Americans want to help Africa there are better things their $ could do like find clean water sources, health care, education and skills for providing for families and creating jobs. I am very interested to know more of your comment about greedy pastors, forced brainwashing. Please write me [email protected] All comments…
Let Japan ask PF government because the statistics have been recorded in the last three years and I am assuring you that the figures will triple now that they are continuing in power. The heading is only misleading to someone who never went to school and/or when at school never did research
The heading leaves out a word. Death.
The way forward is to highlight the issue as is being done. We have to keep pushing the various projects already started under Sata.
We must ensue youngsters have adequate education so that they understand the enormity of Child bearing and they understand the need to provide a wholesome nourishing environment.
The trust of this article is Healthcare provision to limit the number of deaths in birth or infancy. President Lungu will see to this and pressure groups should not fail these programmes.
People like Maureen Mwanawasa must be shamed to Return Funding from World Fund groups, so that money is used for its proper intention in these Health Programmes. If Maureen is a practicing Lawyer she should be Disbarred for personal Reputation damaging to the image of Legal field and…
Iwe how did Kaseba use the K4.5 billion she recieved in three years?
After answering this question then you can begin to ask Dr Mwanawasa.
Japan is the first country country to highlight PF’s failures in health care.
Facts be told here, the Pathetic f00ls have ravaged the economy beyond repair.
Fair to say that PF has actually destroyed all the sectors of the economy.
With this kalungu, more damage is going to be done to our economy.
I mean K4.5 billion rebased.
This is the PF for you; meanwhile huge debt has been contracted for the construction of ‘health posts’ …a few have been put up here and there for show, but even then, there is no plan regarding who will run them. Come on Zambians, we deserve better than this!