‘Bauchi records 872 maternal, perinatal deaths in six months’

Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (BSPHDA) recorded 872 maternal and perinatal deaths in 123 health facilities from July to December 2022.

Focal Person of the state’s Maternal and Perinatal Deaths Surveillance Review (MPDSR), Mrs. Jummai Inuwa, made this known at a two-day review meeting in Bauchi.

MPDSR is a form of continuous surveillance that links the health information system and quality improvement processes from local to national levels, which includes routine identification, notification, quantification and determination of causes and avoids ability of all maternal and perinatal deaths, as well as the use of such information to respond with actions that will prevent future deaths.

The Pause and Reflection Meeting is organised quarterly by the Integrated Health Programme (IHP) of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to ascertain activities, identify issues and recommendations to expedite action in health and education sectors in the state.

Inuwa, therefore, said: “Bauchi State MPDSR recorded 56 maternal and 816 perinatal deaths from July to December 2022.
The MPDSR data is from 123 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) and 20 general hospitals; 31 maternal and 330 perinatal deaths were reviewed within the stipulated period.”

According to him, the general hospital in Toro recorded 14 maternal deaths, Ningi 11 and Azare six, adding that Toro recorded 162 perinatal deaths, Ningi 111 and Misau 106.

The focal person also said that some measures to be employed to reduce the burden include access to antenatal care, post-abortion care, task shifting and sharing, among others.

Earlier, the state officer for USAID-IHP, Dr. Siaka Alhasan, had recalled the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2022, which indicated that Bauchi health indices were poor; hence, the need for in-depth conversation on doing the right thing for quality medicare.

The Permanent Secretary, Bauchi State Ministry of Health, Mr. Ali Babayo, urged health agencies to work towards sustaining programmes being implemented by development partners.