July 6, 2021
By KAMAL M BARRIE (KENEMA)
In an exclusive interview, Mr. Ibrahim Feika, Health for All Coalition worker attached to the Kenema Government Hospital has disclosed shocking news that Kenema District has the highest maternal death cases after PCMH Hospital in Freetown.
He revealed that from January to May 2021 about 27 cases have been recorded and that places the district second after Freetown.
According to Mr. Feika, the maternal death cases have myriad of causes, citing slow ambulance and referral responses.
Another cause has also been attributed sluggish response of some health care workers in attending to pregnant women brought to their facilities that weak in logistics for immediate action.
Mr. Feika fumed at the attitude of Kenema District Stakeholders for failing to pay routine visits to especially the Kenema Government Hospital which is a referral hospital in the district.
Most of the Kenema Politicians prefer to ferry voters during the SLPP Lower Level Elections with huge financial cost instead of providing donations to the District Health Management Team (DHMT) in a way of complementing government effort in the health sector.
He further praised the Dr. Donald Samuel Grant, DMO Kenema District who provided fuel just to see the ambulances running and has been doing his level best to see people’s health is being taken care off.
He again explained that the Medical Superintendent of the Kenema Government Hospital Dr. Ibrahim Kapuwa and team are also doing their level best to save the lives of the people in Kenema but they themselves cannot survive without community stakeholder’s support.
Mr. Albert Bockarie, Civil Society Activist who represents the Civil Society Organization in the DHMT Kenema opined that Kenema District has a large number of Presidential appointees from Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Directors, Board Members, Bank Governor, and Commissioners to name but few.
Of all these positions what role have they been playing in seeing that issues affecting the people of Kenema are tabled to appropriate quarters to remedy their problems or they themselves what have they been doing to aid the hospital management.Mr Bockarie asked.
He lamented that after Freetown in maternal death reports, Kenema leads the chart and that is a bad report for the district and the country especially as Sierra Leone has won the MCC, an increase in the maternal death cases will minus the country’s scores.
He said the maternal death cases have increased from 27 initially to about 29 cases. He appealed to Kenema Politicians to not only focus on how they should win lower level elections but should also consider the welfare of the masses.
He personally made mention of the Resident Minister, the Mayor, the District Council Chairman to pay greater attention to the health sector as the medical workers are doing their best but they are highly constrained of certain facilities that need political intervention.
Speaking to the Kenema District Medical Officer Dr. Donald Samuel Grant on the maternal death cases he confirmed it reality and seriousness.
He said that prompted the DHMT to hold several meetings internally so that they can identify causes and line of actions.
“I am not happy and we as management will take strong actions on those causes we can handle. We have called a Health Stakeholders meeting inviting all the 16 Chiefdoms Paramount Chiefs and even the Minister of Health witnessed that meeting. We have placed prompt action on some of the causes and we are quite sure those maternal death cases will decrease. A woman has no right to die in a labor room”, DMO Grant stated.
Dr. Grant further said Paramount Chiefs have agreed to put in place bye laws so that pregnant women will not deliver at their homes but to the Health facilities, they should come for treatment on time. After 4-5 child birth women should realize the importance of birth control. He later called the attention of all stakeholders to visit the health facilities and if possible complement government effort to save lives.
In another development in his office at the Kenema Milton Margai Under five Clinic building, he said as a way to curb maternal death in the district, health centres in 13 Chiefdoms in Kenema District they are going to benefit from Solar Panel electrification so that Labour rooms will not be dark at night as Paramount Chiefs mentioned that as a factor of the maternal death in the chiefdoms.
DMO revealed that GIZ as one of their health partners provided the Solar Panels and hire the services of installing them at all Health facilities in the 13 Chiefdoms. He thanked GIZ for supporting the DHMT to accomplish the project to light the Labor rooms in the district.
He encouraged stakeholders to monitor those solar lights so that health workers will make proper use of the Solar Lights at those chiefdoms and that was why they included Civil Society Activist and the District Council Health Committee Chairman during the installation of the Solar Panels.