The opposition Forum for Democratic Change, FDC has implored Government and Ministry of Health to work towards reducing the number of women dying in labour every day.
While addressing the press at Najjanankumbi, the FDC party Deputy Secretary General Harold Kaija noted that 19 women die in child birth every day in Uganda.
This, he says translates to over 6000 women dying every year due to child birth complications.
Kaija was mourning Sheilah Nakabuye, the NBS reporter who passed on last week, after giving birth to a baby girl, in Mbarara. Kaija says these deaths make no sense when you do not know the person who is dead, but it will make sense when you lose your own.
“The FDC implores those in charge to work towards reducing those statistics, and they don’t just reduce by themselves. The health sector must invest seriously, parliament has a huge number of women as MPs who have gone there on the gender ticket, we would think that the women agenda is actually high on their agenda but apparently a few of them are seen on the flow of Parliament when they are discussing the pride of women” Kaija said.
He noted that it is shame, that Ugandan women still die due to lack of a mama kit. Kaija says that even the government provided mama kits with a mark “Not for sale” are being sold to women at Shs 30,000 and yet most women cannot afford the amount.
He argues that government opened up a specialized women hospital in Mulago using tax payers’ money in form of a loan, but the same hospital is now private
“For a woman to go there just to consult, they have to pay Shs.50,000. So how many kilograms of maize can a peasant afford? If a kilo is at shs. 500, those are 100kgs, that a peasant woman must pay to consult at Mulago” he said.
He added that antenatal is Shs.150,000, shs. 800,000 for normal delivery, and For C Section one pays up to Shs. 2,500,000.
“How many women around Mulago can afford that bill? Women in media, please put your cameras, pens on what is happening in the labour rooms. Many health centres around the country do not have midwives, others are overwhelmed. You find a woman who is overwhelmed and never gets leave” Kaija said.
