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Africa: Leaders Proffer Solution to Maternal Mortality
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Daily Champion (Lagos)
24 July 2008
Posted to the web 24 July 2008
Akor Sylvester
Abuja
TRADITIONAL rulers and religious leaders across the continent yesterday attributed the alarming rate of maternal mortality in Africa to inadequate education received by women, before, during and after child birth.
The leaders have argued that maternal mortality and child morbidity can be reduced in Africa, if both men and women have the rightful information on the need to save lives during child birth, pass it across and work with it effectively.
They also positioned that some religious beliefs and practices in most of the counties in Africa contribute to the alarming rate of maternal mortality even as they said religious homes can help in child delivery but with major role of medical care and expertise.
These were the positions strongly maintained by traditional and religious leaders drawn from 21 African countries at the Conference on the Role of Traditional/Religious Leaders on Reduction of Maternal Mortality/Survival of Women at Giginya hotel, Sokoto.
Making a speech at the event organised by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar said the major factor that leads to the rapid increase in women's death during child birth is denials from access to basic health care during and after child birth, stressing that if adequate health care education is given to African women in general, and Nigeria in particular, the death rate at child birth would be reduced drastically.
He urged the organiser, UNFPA not to go to sleep after the conference but to map out workable strategies to be used by all stakeholders at the conference in order to tackle the issue of maternal mortality not only in Nigeria but all African countries adding that "we religious leaders are ready to work with UNFPA in achieving this feat".
Also speaking, the president of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) His Grace Arc bishop John Onaiyekan said religious bodies have vital role to play in the reduction of maternal mortality rate in the country even as he added that faith works in all religions depending on the way practitioners use it.
He said that the UNFPA brochure which listed many objectives which included gender equality, reducing maternal and infant mortality, reducing HIV infection rates, making motherhood safer, supporting adolescence and youth, protecting human rights, improving reproductive health conditions were wonderful and laudable, but deciding on concrete means and course of action to achieve them can be and is often quite problematic.
The CAN president who believed that "behind the modern ideas, there are also some assumptions, ideas, views of life, indeed "doctrines" which are often propounded with religious dogmatism and with more than a tinge of cultural superiority complex", said further that "we need to put our heads together across all religious and ideological boundaries, and engage in a sincere dialogue to identify those common convictions that will propel us to common action in the service of our people".
Also in his speech, the country representative of UNFPA, Mr. Sidiki Coulibaly said the engagement of traditional and religious leaders, who are custodians of traditions, culture and beliefs, in dealing with sensitive population issues, was recognised by the programme of action of the 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD PoA) as pivot, in particular, to improvements in maternal health and reduction in maternal mortality to promote the well-being of people.
According to him, although changes have been happening, still, most segments of communities have remarkable levels of trust in religious and traditional leaders generally higher than their trust in other social institutions. He therefore called on them to partner with government in fighting women's death at child birth.
Earlier, the minister of women affairs, Hajiya Saudatu Usman Bungudu urged all local government councils to, as a matter of urgency and necessity, embark on the training and re-training of traditional birth attendants so as to ensure proficiency of safe delivery even at the grassroots where medical attention is many kilometers away.
She believed that the reduction of maternal mortality and the promotion of maternal health can only be successful and thorough, if the traditional and religious leaders are deeply involved in mobilizing and sensitizing the grassroots to appreciate and utilize medical attention during and after pregnancy.
In a separate speech, the Catholic Arch. Bishop of Abuja and the president of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), John Onaiyekan said between the religious leaders themselves, at least in Nigeria, "we are only recently gradually discovering the power and value of enhanced cooperation among ourselves in addressing the many issues that agitate the lives of our people".
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He called on the leaders to use the conference as a forum to strengthen the bond of cooperation, both within and between the Muslim and Christian faith communities adding that "all this augurs very well for the future, we need to join hands together in addressing them".
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