Kinshasa: Denis Nyakeru Tshisekedi launches ‘mother and newborn week’ (CongoForum)

2023-11-07 16:33:47

KINSHASA – Mother and Newborn Week was launched this Monday, November 6, 2023 at the Mother-Child Center in the commune of Ngaba in Kinshasa, by First Lady Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi. This campaign, organized by the Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Prevention, will run from November 6 to 10, 2023.

Official sources indicate that Mother and Newborn Week will include various activities, including a campaign to offer free services and information in reproductive health, a round table of donors for advocacy in favor of resource mobilization for maternal health, as well as a youth forum on sexual and reproductive health.

This event is organized with the technical support of the National Reproductive Health Program (PNSR) and UN agencies united around the H6+ initiative to combat maternal deaths. These are UNFPA, UN Women, UNICEF, WHO, UNAIDS and the World Bank. In a press release made public, these agencies indicate that the DRC continues to face significant challenges in maternal and neonatal health, contributing to 50% of the global burden of maternal mortality and ranking among the top five countries responsible for 49 % of deaths of children under 5 years old.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 289,000 maternal deaths occur globally each year, with a woman’s risk of dying in sub-Saharan Africa from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth being 1 in 16, compared to 1 in 2,400 in industrialized countries.

In the DRC, the statistics are alarming, with more than 32 women, including 4 dying every hour from pregnancy-related causes and childbirth-related complications.

In 2022 alone, the DRC reported a total of 6,995 maternal deaths, and the maternal mortality rate was estimated at 547 per 100,000 live births in 2020.

To combat this alarming situation, the government of the DRC, through the Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Prevention, is working in collaboration with its technical and financial partners to implement strategies to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality.

In line with this effort, Mother and Newborn Week aims to strengthen capacities in sexual, reproductive, maternal and neonatal health at all levels, to ensure the provision of essential medicines for the correct care of mother, newborn and child to reduce preventable deaths.

Hemorrhage, infections, unsafe abortions, high blood pressure and obstructed labor are among the leading causes of maternal death. Additionally, 75% of neonatal deaths occur during the first week of life, with approximately 1 million newborns dying within the first 24 hours. In addition to health indicators, social and cultural norms also pose barriers to accessing services, with women facing inequality, poverty and gender-based violence.

Note that this transformative event, Mother and Newborn Week, will bring together stakeholders and actors dedicated to improving the health and well-being of mothers and newborns in the DRC.

© CongoForum – editorial, 07.11.23

Image – source: Congolese press