The Minister of Public Health announced the new program that covers all the 10 regions during a recent outing. It is aimed at lowering maternal deaths and assisting safe childbirth.
A new program guaranteeing affordable maternal care has now been officially expanded to cover all the 10 regions of the country. The Minister of Public Health, Dr Manaouda Malachie made the declaration recently. The initiative, known as the “Health Cheque,” is designed to break down the financial barrier between pregnant women and the medical the required health attention.
Costing a small fee of just 6,000 CFA francs, the program provides a comprehensive package of essential services. Among them, prenatal consultations and follow-up examinations, assisting childbirth by qualified personnel, including caesarean sections if medically necessary, postnatal care for both the mother and her newborn for up to 42 days after delivery.
The minister said moves like the expansion of the program to the West Region, is a critical step toward attaining the goal of the Universal Health Coverage program. It specifically aims to tackle a dangerous statistic, in the West Region, as the minister says more than half of all women were still giving birth at home, a major factor in maternal mortality.
The health ministry issued a powerful call to action, urging authorities, health professionals, and families to work together. The minister emphasized that the shared mission is to ensure that no woman loses her life while bringing a new one into the world.
