Mabamba hopes to compliment government efforts to provide health care by constructing maternity clinics throughout the town. In Zimbabwe it is estimated that eight women die daily from pregnancy-related complications. One of the major causes of death is unsafe child delivery at home.
According to the United Nations children Fund (UNICEF), in 1999 83% of deliveries in Zimbabwe occurred in health institutions. In 2005, UNICEF said 68% were institutional deliveries, and in 2009 only 61% of deliveries occurred in health institutions. According to the maternal neonatal roadmap, 32% of women opt to deliver at home. The trend shows a constant decline in institutional deliveries over the years which compromises the safety of both the mother and the baby.
It is disturbing to note that women are not given their rights especially when it comes to their health, said Mabamba. They are needed only to produce children and yet we fail to give them appropriate facility to deliver the children we want them to produce for us. Our desire in this project is to protect both the mother and the child during
childbirth so that they do not contract diseases which jeopardise their lives.
High user fees demanded by health care givers is also a cause of maternal mortality in the country. Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe is advocating for the scrapping of user fees under the theme, No woman should die while giving birth, but some councils have resisted the move describing it as unsustainable.
Post published in: News