The health ministry should recruit more midwives to effectively address reproductive health issues at the grassroots, MPs have said.
MPs on the social services committee recommended that midwives be accommodated at health centres premises and be trained to improve their skills.
Health Centres III are required to have outpatient services, admit patients and offer maternity services, but do not carry out operations, the Kinkiizi East MP, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi (NRM), said.
The MPs’ recommendations are contained in a May report compiled after field visits to health units in 16 districts aimed at assessing the performance of the health sector.
Maternal mortality in the country stands at 435 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Earlier this year, the director of health services, Dr. Sam Zaramba, expressed concern about the fact that many women continue delivering babies at home in unhealthy conditions, which sometimes leads to death.
He said the health ministry had authorised health Centres II to conduct deliveries to reduce the number of women giving birth from home.
Committee chairperson Rosemary Sseninde (NRM) urged the Government to provide more funds for reproductive health in order to achieve the fifth Millennium Development Goal, which aims at improving maternal health by 2015.
She called for the strengthening of sexual and reproductive health services in local governments, with emphasis on sexually transmitted infections, family planning provision, antenatal care and supervised deliveries.
The MPs noted that primary health care funds, which had remained constant for about 10 years, be increased to match population growth.
They pointed out that the cost of drugs and other hospital logistics had trippled in the same period.
The MPs urged the health ministry to conduct in-service training to equip health workers with basic skills on how to attend to patients with disabilities.
They called for training of medical workers in human resource management to improve service delivery.
The MPs also urged the Government to expedite the process of branding public drugs, saying it reduced thefts.
Recruit more midwives, say MPs
