Adamawa Region: 16 Per cent Increase In Hospital-assisted Births

According to the 2018 Demographic and Health Survey, DHS, maternal mortality in Cameroon remains high. With 406 women dying per 100,000 live births. Hardest hit are the northern regions of Adamawa, North, Far North, and East. Infant mortality rates are higher in the North and East Regions; respectively standing at 133 deaths per 1,000 live births and 122 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Meanwhile, Adamawa and Far North Regions record 96 deaths per 1,000 live births and 103 deaths per 1,000 live births, respectively. In the Littoral Region, infant mortality stands at 50 deaths per 1,000 live births, and 78 deaths per 1,000 live births in the West Region. The national infant mortality average is 80 deaths per 1,000 live births. 

It is this situation that informed government’s decision to include Adamawa Region in the Maternal, Newborn and Infant Health Support Project, MNIHSP from 2018-2021. This followed field visits to Tignere, Tibati, Bankim and Ngaoundal Health Districts, Daouda, the Focal Point for Reproductive Health with the Adamawa Regional Delegation of Public Health, explains. The project is implemented by the Ministry of Public Health, with the technical backup of the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA.

Before a formal evaluation is carried out at the end of the project later this year, there are already indications of improvements made. “After three years of project implementation, we realised that the rate of hospital-assisted births rose from 40 per cent to 56 per cent in Tignere, Tibati, Bankim and Ngaoundal Health Districts. There has also been a considerable reduction in newborn deaths. It now stands at 48 for 56,000 live births. Significant improvements in patient referrals have als...