Kaduna Mortality Accountability Mechanism (KADMAM), a Civil Society Organization (CSO) has called for appropriate funding by Federal Government, states, local governments and other stakeholders to reduce the rate of maternal mortality in the country.

KADMAM is a coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations, Government, Media and other critical stakeholders working to curb death of mothers during child bearing in the state.

The Federal Government, allocated N71 billion to the health sector in the 2018 budget proposal present to the National Assembly by President Muhammad Buhari.

The amount allocated fell short of minimum international standard of 15 per cent of a total national or state budget.

Available data obtained from the Nigeria Demographic Health Survey 2013, also showed that 576 women die in every 100,000 live births in the country.

The same survey for 2008 showed that 1,026 deaths were recorded in every 100,000 live births in the North-West region.

Mustapha Jumare, Co-chairman of the CSOs in an interview with journalists on the sidelines of a three day review meeting on Thursday in Zaria, also advocated for holistic synergy among stakeholders to tackle the growing maternal mortality in the state.

He said such collaborations would help in identifying the challenges and also evolve strategies to address the menace of maternal mortality not only in Kaduna State but in Nigeria as a whole.

Jumare, who is also a former Director of Nursing Services, attributed some of the major challenges of the continued rise of maternal deaths and child mortality to low budgetary allocation to the health sector.

He noted with concern, the non release of even the amount allocated to the sector in most of the states in the 2017

“We are here to review the activities of Kaduna Maternal Accountability Mechanism which was inaugurated in July 2015 in Kaduna .

“It comprises 38 members from Ministries, Departments such as NDLEA, Primary Health Care Development Agency, Budget and Planning, Civil Society Organisations and the Media as well as other Civil Society Organisations.

“All these are working together to drastically reduce the maternal mortality in Kaduna State,” he said.

Jumare added that, the meeting would look at what it had done so far, what the challenges were and how to address them, adding that it would also look at what they would be doing in the next one year.

“We are working on maternal new born and child health and the focus is to try as much possible to create programmes that are likely going to reduce maternal and new born death in Kaduna.

“We work on data we received from Ministry of Health, State Bureau for Statistic, Budget and Planning among others and put our heads together for the collective good of all.

“Bringing stakeholders together and financing remained some of the major constraints of the CSOs in the state,” he said.

He commended the Kaduna State Government for steady increase in its budget allocation to health sector for the 2018 appropriation.

“This is good, but it is not the allocation that matters but what is the release and what is the money that is provided for in the budget for doing the activity, that is our concern. This is what is affecting the health sector but we are working towards addressing that,” he said.

The review programme is being supported by Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH 2).

•Photo by Garba Ahmed shows a cross section of members of Kaduna Mortality Accountability Mechanism (KADMAM), a coalition of NGO, Government, Media and other critical stakeholders working to curb maternal mortality in Kaduna State, at a three-day review meeting in Zaria, Kaduna State.