Central Province Permanent Secretary (PS), Milner Mwanakampwe has called on health workers in the area to identify and implement effective interventions that would reduce maternal mortalities.
Mr. Mwanakampwe said the proportion of women attending antenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy in the province has remained between 20 percent and 25 percent.
He said the maternal mortality ratio was estimated at 126 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021.
The PS was speaking when he officially opened the planning meeting for the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and 2023 budget for the Department of Health in the province.
Mr. Mwanakampwe expressed concern that a significant number recorded on maternal deaths were that of adolescents.
He stated that government has placed adolescent health high on the agenda to ensure that adolescents are healthy and productive.
Mr. Mwanakampwe said the new administration has been implementing the expanded programme on immunization, integrated management of childhood illnesses, and elimination of mother to child transmission as well as scaling up interventions to put pediatric patients on treatment as a way of addressing infant and child mortality.
He has however, commended the health workers in the province for recording a steady decline in malaria cases and deaths.
Mr. Mwanakapmwe said the clinical and confirmed cases reduced from 498 per 1,000 populations in 2020 to 280 per 1,000 populations in 2021.
He attributed the reduction in the cases to the deployment of key preventive interventions such as indoor residual spraying and distribution of long lasting insecticide treated nets.
And Central Province Health Director, Abel Kabalo said the location of the province puts the region to be the key anchor to health service provision in the country.
Dr. Kabalo said because of its location, the province has a challenge of road traffic accidents and that the Ministry of Health needs to be responsive to that effect.
