NAMIBIA’S MATERNAL DEATHS RISING
Mar 11th, 2009 by admin
The number of women in Namibia dying in childbirth has been steadily rising. A representative for the United Nations Development Programme, Simon Nhongo, said while other countries had been making gradual progress, the situation in Namibia was worsening. Nhongo said maternal mortality rates had risen from 225 per 100 000 live births in 1992 to 449 in 2006. Namibia’s Ministry of Health called the rising mortality rates unacceptable. The Deputy Minister, Petrina Haingura, said all causes of maternal deaths could be prevented if couples had access to quality reproductive health services such as family planning, antenatal care and access to skilled birth attendant and obstetric care when complications arose. Yesterday more than 100 people attended a national conference geared toward improving maternal and child health.