In response to recent maternal and perinatal death surveillance reports from the 2022/23 period, which show a significant decrease in maternal mortality from 189 to 90 per 100,000 live births and a reduction in neonatal mortality from 27 to 22 per 1,000 live births, the government has committed to further improving the functionality of health centers to support safe motherhood.
Speaking on behalf of Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, Health Minister Dr. Ruth Aceng emphasized the importance of ongoing investments in health infrastructure.
According to the latest annual health sector performance report, 62.5% of health infrastructure is now functional, a figure the government aims to improve further.
During her remarks at the 4th National Safe Motherhood Conference, Prime Minister Nabbanja also expressed the government’s commitment to increase the number of skilled birth attendants through targeted recruitment.
“Recruitment will soon be addressed in a phased approach. I urge everyone to continue discouraging mothers from turning to traditional birth attendants, who we officially phased out in 2010,” she stated.
The three-day conference, held under the theme “Strengthening Community Engagement for Sustainable Maternal and Newborn Health,” aims to emphasize the critical role of community engagement in connecting health issues to effective health promotion actions, ultimately improving maternal and newborn care.
Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Dr. Diana Atwiine stressed the importance of shortening decision-to-incision times and encouraged participants to focus on initiatives that reduce delays.
She further highlighted the need to empower communities to better understand the advanced systems available within health facilities.
“We need to strengthen community engagement by addressing the harmful practices that divert people towards traditional birth attendants. This is a collective effort—let’s harmonize our message and intervention,” Dr. Atwiine said.
Dr. Richard Mugahi, Commissioner of Reproductive and Infant Health, noted that community barriers and gaps in health facilities are among the new challenges identified. He stressed that initial care should be sought at health centers, as the ministry aims to bring health services closer to communities.
“We’re bringing health facilities to communities under the concept of ‘hospital in the community.’ Often, mothers arrive too late for us to help, so we’re taking proactive measures,” Dr. Mugahi said.
