Reduced mortality key to meeting MDG

KATHMANDU: Director of the Family Health Division (FHD) under the Ministry of Health and Population today said safe motherhood programme was in the government’s priority list and a huge budget had been allocated for the programme.

Dr Naresh Pratap KC, director of Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) said the government had targeted of raising institutionalised delivery from 16 per cent to 40 per cent to attain Millennium Development Goal (MDG) within 2017. The present mortality rate is 281 per 100,00 live births.

Addressing a programme organised by Safe Motherhood Network Federation Nepal, KC said there were still a large number of women practicing risky delivery methods. At present, nearly 29 per cent of women are seeking help from Skill Birth Attendant (SBA) even as the country aims to expand services by 60 per cent in the three-year interim plan for the year 2010-11.

According to FHD data, SBA conduced around 20 per cent of total deliveries during fiscal year 2008/09.

It was 20.7 per cent in the previous year. The number of births at the health institute was 194,246 in fiscal year 2008/09. Itwas 155,750 in

the previous year.

By 2017, the government aims to reduce maternal mortality rate to 134 per 100,000 live births and Neonatal Mortality rate to 15 per 1,000 live births.

KC further said the ministry was providing Rs 500, Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500 as postnatal

care incentive in tarai, hill and mountain districts respectively to reduce maternal mortality rate.

Sambhu Jung Rana, coordinator of the Vulnerable Committee Project of the Federation, said they had been providing health services to women of Rukum, Rolpa and Salyan districts and also working for their behavioral change.

Most of the women from these districts suffer from prolapse and cervical cancer, he added.