OXFAM and its partners work to improve maternal care(D/G. Saturday August 4, 2012) Page 11

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Sumbrungu An intervention carried out by Oxfam and its partners including the Participatory Action for Rural Development Alternatives (PARDA), in selected communities in the Upper East has led to an increase in facility deliveries of babies under the supervision of skilled personnel and improved maternal are. Working in collaboration with PARDA, OXFAM started the health project started in March 2011 with the first phase ending in March 2012. The project is currently running on a second phase and will continue till March 2013. Six communities in three districts of the region are implementing the project with the intention to complement the work of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), to reduce maternal mortality. The communities are Sapeliga and Tanga in the Bawku- West District; Sumbrungu and Zuruangu in the Bolgatanga Municipality; and Naaga and Gia in the Kassena- Nankana District. Available statistics indicate that in 2010, Sapeliga recorded 329 skilled deliveries but in 2011, the figure shot up to 355. In Tanga/Timonde, for 2010, skilled delivery was 24 but increased to 156 in 2011. In Zuarungu, skilled deliveries increased from 188 in the year 2010 to 191 in the year 2011, while in Sumbrungu, skilled delivery shot up to 245 recorded in 2011 from 154 recorded in 2010. For Naaga/Kolgo, and Wuru, Gia, skilled deliveries for 2010 was 77 and 17 respectively but the figure increased to 91 and 78 in the year 2011. The Director of PARDA, Mr. Micheal Wombeogo, disclosed this during a field visit by the West African Regional Director of Oxfam, Mr. Mamadou Biteye. The visit was to monitor the progress of the intervention, share experiences and chart a way forward. Mr. Wombeogo said the main aim of the project was to add value to maternal and child health care and services in the target communities. He said through the intervention well established Traditional Births Attendants (TBAs) and Community Health Committees (CHCs) systems have been put in place and these personnel work effectively with health centers officials to ensure long term support in health care delivery. He added that there was more community involvement and ownership of the process t he sense of community ownership as well as commitment from the traditional authorities in the promoting maternal healthcare in the respective communities. Torching on some of the success stories in the focal communities, Mr. Wombeogo said Community Health Committees (CHC) in Tanga successfully through the District Assembly lobbied for the construction of a borehole for the Tanga health centre. He said that same CHC has also been able to lobby for the setting up of a labor room and the provision of a skilled birth attendant to commence skilled deliveries in the Tanga Health centre. He said in Sapeliga, the CHC with the help of the Sapeliga Health Centre has successfully lobbied for the full support of the traditional authorities in promoting antenatal care and overall maternal healthcare. Mr. Wombeogo stressed the need for more community involvement and ownership of the process to help to further reduce maternal mortality in the focal communities. “The communities should see the TBA’s and CHCs and Health Centres as their own and therefore help sustain it. Again Traditional Authorities have a great role in ensuring the sustanianlity of the laid down structure even long after the project Officcilay phase out”,he said. The West African Regional Director of Oxfam, Mr. Mamadou Biteye commended the Ghana Health Service, (GHS) for their collaborative role in ensuring the success of the programme in the beneficiary communities. He said the role of Oxfam’s role was to to replace government in the delivery of health services but to complement whatever efforts are being made, he therefore appealed to the GHS and community members to embrace the concept. Mr. Mamadou Biteye, who is based in Senegal, also visited Nalerigu in the Wes Mamprusis District of the Northern Region where he interacted with another project implementation partner, Partners in Rural Empowerment and Development, (PARED). PARED with support from OXFAM is implementing three projects, namely, Integrated Livelihood Programme, the Food and Agriculture Recovery Management Project and the Enhanced Livelihood Conservation Agriculture Project. During an interaction with farmers at Sumnibomah, Mr. Biteye was informed that as result of the support from OXFAM through PARED, there has been an increase in yields. One female community member, Safura Mahamadu said gender discrimination has reduced significantly since women in the community they have under Oxfam’s intervention, have been empowered and involved in decision making process in the village. Mr. Sibri Gumah, a farmer said Oxfam had made a significant impact in the area adding that through the provision of bullock, donkey and carts which is used in land tilling and carting of goods from the farm to the marketing centers yields have increased from about four bags of maize to 10 bags of maize at the end of the farming season. August 4, 2012