'Maternal mortality' still high in Bangladesh
Sunday, 14 September 2008
Bangladesh has made remarkable progress on health and family planning programmes in last two decades although the maternal mortality ratio is still high with 320 per 0.1 million (one lakh) women die each year due to pregnancy related complications, reports BSS.
Death of mothers accounts for 20 per cent among all women of reproductive age and the major causes for such mortality in the country are attributed to abortion, eclampsia, violence, haemorrhage, sepsis, obstructed labour and other obstetric reasons.
The observations were came at a discussion on Sexual and
Reproductive Health and Rights jointly organised by Health and Environment Journalist Forum, Bangladesh (HEJFB) and Reproductive Health Services Training and Education Programme (RHSTEP) at the National Press Club in the city Saturday.
Senior journalist and columnist Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury moderated the discussion, in which head of news ATN Bangla Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul took part as the chief discussant.
Chaired by HEJFB President Mustafiz Shafi, the function was addressed, among others, by HEJFB General Secretary Saiful Islam Shameem, RHSTEP Executive Director Quazi Suraiya Sultana and Manager (Programme) Dr Luna Chakma.
Health journalists from both print and electronic media including, Masud Kamal, Naimul Haque, Abdul Mannan, Ayub Bhuiyan, Nashrat Chowdhury, M Enamul Haque, Jayanta Achariya, Zahirul Abedin and Irin Niazi Manna took part in the discussion.
Zaglul Chowdhury said newspaper and electronic media could play a significant role in promoting knowledge and creating public opinion about safe motherhood.
He said both print and electronic media should give priority to knowledge building, grooming up at least one specialised reporter to cover health issues as well as updating the editing section with health terminologies for a better health journalism in the country.
Sexual and reproductive health was not solely a health issue, Zaglul Ahmed said, adding it was a matter of economic development, social justice, gender equality and human rights.
He said health as a major development area seemed to be narrowly focused in the media, which usually covered a small part of the divergent issue.
In this context, both journalists and their superiors should give greater importance to health and protecting sexual and reproductive rights, he added.
Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul stressed the need for investigative reporting and their follow-ups on sexual and reproductive health issues, often a culturally sensitive phenomenon.
He said that the quality and in-depth reports by health reporters could occupy more space in media.
In this context, he reminded health reporters to prepare good reports that would have higher market value and submit it before their editors so that the news could get priority to be broadcast or published.
He said the country now experienced three types of journalism- protocol, clerical and king fisher-which only looked at the shallow aspects of news.
Death of mothers accounts for 20 per cent among all women of reproductive age and the major causes for such mortality in the country are attributed to abortion, eclampsia, violence, haemorrhage, sepsis, obstructed labour and other obstetric reasons.
The observations were came at a discussion on Sexual and
Reproductive Health and Rights jointly organised by Health and Environment Journalist Forum, Bangladesh (HEJFB) and Reproductive Health Services Training and Education Programme (RHSTEP) at the National Press Club in the city Saturday.
Senior journalist and columnist Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury moderated the discussion, in which head of news ATN Bangla Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul took part as the chief discussant.
Chaired by HEJFB President Mustafiz Shafi, the function was addressed, among others, by HEJFB General Secretary Saiful Islam Shameem, RHSTEP Executive Director Quazi Suraiya Sultana and Manager (Programme) Dr Luna Chakma.
Health journalists from both print and electronic media including, Masud Kamal, Naimul Haque, Abdul Mannan, Ayub Bhuiyan, Nashrat Chowdhury, M Enamul Haque, Jayanta Achariya, Zahirul Abedin and Irin Niazi Manna took part in the discussion.
Zaglul Chowdhury said newspaper and electronic media could play a significant role in promoting knowledge and creating public opinion about safe motherhood.
He said both print and electronic media should give priority to knowledge building, grooming up at least one specialised reporter to cover health issues as well as updating the editing section with health terminologies for a better health journalism in the country.
Sexual and reproductive health was not solely a health issue, Zaglul Ahmed said, adding it was a matter of economic development, social justice, gender equality and human rights.
He said health as a major development area seemed to be narrowly focused in the media, which usually covered a small part of the divergent issue.
In this context, both journalists and their superiors should give greater importance to health and protecting sexual and reproductive rights, he added.
Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul stressed the need for investigative reporting and their follow-ups on sexual and reproductive health issues, often a culturally sensitive phenomenon.
He said that the quality and in-depth reports by health reporters could occupy more space in media.
In this context, he reminded health reporters to prepare good reports that would have higher market value and submit it before their editors so that the news could get priority to be broadcast or published.
He said the country now experienced three types of journalism- protocol, clerical and king fisher-which only looked at the shallow aspects of news.