The maternal mortality rate in the country dropped by more than 50 per cent over the past 13 years to reach 170 per 0.01 million live births in 2013 following different initiatives taken by the government and community healthcare service providers.
According to a study conducted by the government and development partners, the maternal mortality rate in the year 1990 was 550 per 0.01 million live births.
The statistics were prepared by the government with the support from NGOs, World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, UNFPA and others.
Health experts said along with the ongoing intervention programmes by the government, non- governmental organisations and the development partners more awareness should be created in this respect.
According to them, the available statistics are based on the patients coming to hospitals and other healthcare institutions. So it is an imperative to launch extensive programmes to bring more women under the health coverage.
Different interventions including reduction of home delivery, emergency obstetric care and growing awareness among the women helped lessen the maternal mortality rates.
Dr. Alamgir Ahmed, programme manager, Maternal and Neonatal Health Programme under the directorate general of health services said the government is getting support from different non- governmental organisations, World Health Organisation, UNICEF, UNFPA, WB and others in running the programmes to reduce maternal mortality rate and the area of coverage is currently in 63 districts.
He said the other interventions- educating pregnant ladies, empowerment of taking decisions, awareness, treatment of postpartum haemorrhage and eclumpsia have helped reduce the mortality rate.
The official said the declining rate is about 5.5 per cent each year on average, 0.1 percentage points higher than the required 5.4 per cent for attaining Millennium Development Goal 5 (MDG-5).
A senior staff working with a US- based non- governmental organisation which is running their programmes in Sunamgonj for the last three years to assist the government in reducing mortality rates said they are training the nurses to go home and support pregnant women for safe delivery.
She said despite tremendous efforts for reducing maternal deaths nationwide, significant inequalities exist across geographical regions and between different wealth equalities.
According to an estimate, MMR is the highest in Sylhet division (425 per 0.01 million live births) and the lowest in Khulna division.
As per data available from government of Bangladesh,UNICEF Country Programme 2012-2016, Mid-Term Review 2014 to create a health profile of each district and systematic analysis, health interventions were divided into health faculty, outreach and family/community health services.
This is helping the government to introduce interventions in the field of Antenatal Care Pre-eclumpsia Prevention (ANC PP), emergency obstetric care (EMOC) and Special Care Newborn Unit (SCANU).
Currently, under the government's supervision and supports by others, 9,000 community-based skilled birth attendants are working in the country and a good number is in the process to be certified that would help achieve the target of creating 13,500 skilled nurses by 2016 in accelerating reduction of maternal mortality rates.
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