Turkana: The Turkana government, in collaboration with Amref Health Africa through the Danida Transcend Project, has formed the County Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) Committee. The ultimate goal is to strengthen accountability and improve maternal and newborn health outcomes across the county.
According to Kenya News Agency, the inaugural meeting brought together health leaders to officially constitute the committee, disseminate and review the 2024/2025 MPDSR Report, sign off on the final version, sensitise members on their roles, and plan future activities. As part of its mandate, the committee has developed the Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality and Every Newborn Action Plan, which seeks to lower current mortality rates by improving the quality of care in all health facilities.
The county’s facility-based report (Kenya Health Information System 2024-2025) indicates that Turkana’s maternal mortality ratio stood at 73 per 100,000 live births, which is lower than the national figure of 94 per 100,000. Neonatal mortality was 12 per 1,000 live births, mirroring the national average. James Lobokan, Director for Policy, Planning, Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation, highlighted the need for localized strategies to reduce maternal and perinatal deaths. He emphasized the importance of identifying leading causes of maternal deaths in each facility and maintaining updated data to help reduce these preventable deaths. Efforts are being made to reduce facility and referral distances by decentralizing healthcare services and stationing ambulances at every sub-county headquarters.
Deputy Director of Medical Services, Dr. Ameyo Bonventure, stressed the importance of sensitisation in boosting technical support. This effort equips healthcare workers to improve maternal indicators at both sub-county and county levels. Community Health Assistants are also encouraged to cascade this knowledge to create awareness, thereby expanding advocacy and coverage of Reproductive Maternal Neonatal Child Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) services.
County RMNCAH Coordinator Dr. Fatuma Rajab emphasized the necessity of the MPDSR committee given Turkana’s current maternal mortality ratio. With new guidelines, healthcare workers will be able to identify causes of maternal and newborn deaths and prevent similar cases in the future. County Referral Emergency Coordinator Kephas Achiro underscored the role of emergency care in saving lives, highlighting the need to strengthen Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (BEmONC), Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC), and ensure ambulance stations are designated at sub-county facilities for timely referrals.
The meeting was attended by Peter Etee, County Health Records and Information Officer, along with representatives from the International Rescue Committee, Kenya Medical Training Institute-Lodwar, Lodwar County Referral Hospital, Amref Health Africa, and members of the County and Sub-County Health Management Teams.
