The MPs appended their signatures to the petition calling on the government to ensure that health centres in the country provide Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care (CEmONC) services as promised in the National Road Map Strategic Plan To Accelerate Reduction of Maternal, Newborn and Child Deaths in Tanzania 2008-2015.
During the function organised jointly between The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood Tanzania (WRA Tanzania) and Tanzania Parliamentary Group for Safe Motherhood the national WRA Tanzania coordinator Rose Mlay praised the MPs for saying NO to avoidable maternal, newborn and child deaths, by ensuring that health centres have CEmONC.
“We have had enough deaths of mothers and babies. We can’t continue losing innocent lives like this,” said Mlay,
She asked of the MPs: “What overrides life? Whatever we do, be it agriculture, infrastructure, business and water is for life. How can we ignore maternal and newborn deaths and prioritise other things?”
Launching the Sharpened One Plan on The National Road Map Strategic Plan to Accelerate Reduction of Maternal, Newborn and Child Deaths in Tanzania 2008-2015, President Kikwete called for increased accountability and good stewardship at both national and local government levels to realise the set goals.
“I want this to be a permanent political agenda at all levels of our government. We must use this opportunity to ensure that every level takes this matter seriously. The undertaking made by the Regional Commissioners today is very reassuring indeed,” Kikwete said.
For her part, Hovieyh Afnan Holmes, speaking on behalf of a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional collaboration that advocates to ending preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths globally known as Countdown to 2015, said the national and local governments and partners wanted to ensure accountability for the actions highlighted in the Sharpened One Plan, specifically around family planning, care at birth, so that by 2030 progress will be made and no one will be left behind.
Reached for comment, Hoviyeh said accountability is crucial at all levels of the government, but more importantly at the local authorities level, the point of implementation, adding that civil society is required to facilitate the implementation of the Sharpened One Plan during the next 600 days, before the end of the MDGs and beyond.
According to Hoviyeh, based on the data, special emphasis needs to be placed on women from the Western and Lake Zones who are being left behind for family planning services, and on rural women and babies who are being left behind for care at birth.
Analysis shows that 18,400 lives could be saved by the end of 2015 if rapid action leads to the implementation of the plan across Tanzania.
“Having a good plan or policy is only the first step. To save lives this Plan must be implemented and especially to reach the poorest. Accountability requires that the government plays their role, but also requires that civil society – and the media – keep track and hold the government accountable.”
She said: “Countdown to 2015 supports and endorses the use of the Tanzanian regional and district scorecards, launched at the event, a tool by which to facilitate this accountability and track what progress is being made.”
Available data show that Tanzania has achieved MDG4, whose thrust is on reducing child mortality by two-thirds, but MDG5 which about reducing maternal mortality by two-thirds is still an uphill task for the country.
According to the President, the target for Tanzania is to have 193 deaths for every 100,000 live births by 2015, but currently Tanzania records 454 per 100,000 births. This makes it difficult for the country to achieve the target.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
No comments:
Post a Comment