The country will observe ‘Safe Motherhood Day 2017’ today in a befitting manner.
The government has taken different programmes to observe the day.
The theme of the day this year is “Want Safe Motherhood Let’s Go Health Center”, said the State Minister for Health Zahid Malik at a press conference at the auditorium of Directorate General Health Services (DGHS) in city’s Mohakhali.
DGHS Director General Professor Dr Abul Kalam Azad, Maternal, Neonatal, Child and Adolescent Health Line Director Dr Md Jahangir Alam Sarker and Programme Manager Dr Pabithra Kumar Sarker, among others, were present at the press conference.
Malik said around 14 mothers die unexpectedly every day across the country. The rate of taking the help of midwives during childbirth has been increased to 42 percent. But 58 percent childbirth is still taking place at home without any help of midwives, he said, adding that the present government has already taken different initiatives to improve mother health.
Health services to mothers are given, at a limited scale, at Mother and Child Welfare Centers along with country’s all medical college hospitals, district hospitals and 159 upazila health complexes. Besides, this service has been enhanced at 2,200 union health and family welfare centers, Malik added.
To attain SDG’s (Sustainable Development Goals), the government has been providing maternity service training to the doctors of Directorate of Health Services, he said.
The government is also providing Mother Health Voucher Skim to ensure health services for the poor women before and after their pregnancy, he added.
