To address the concerning rates of maternal death and infant mortality, stakeholders in Kaduna state are commending the significant role played by social autopsy dialogues.
These dialogues, aimed at understanding and addressing the root causes of maternal deaths, have garnered appreciation from various stakeholders in the region.
The District Head of Soba Local Government in Kaduna state, Sani Halidu, says the conduct of social autopsy dialogue has helped in reducing maternal and infant mortality rates within his communities.
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Halidu said this on Wednesday during the Lower Level Dissemination Meeting, organised by the Population and Reproductive Health Initiative (PRHI) at Tudun Saibu in Soba Local Government area of Kaduna state
A social autopsy of a maternal and perinatal death is a structured group discussion with the family of the deceased and wider local community to explore the social causes of the death, identify improvements needed, and communicate them within the community to prevent future deaths.
The district head, whom Makaman Soba, Aminu Abdullahi, represented, said the communities have witnessed a sharp decrease in maternal and infant mortality rates due to adoption of the social autopsy innovation
The innovation was a component of Community Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (CMPDSR) implemented by Population and Reproductive Health Initiative (PRHI) and Kaduna State with support from other partners.
According to district head, the innovation has boosted enrolment of women into antenatal care and routine immunisation programmes which led to decreased maternal and infant mortality in the area.
He pledged that communities would sustain the initiative after the exit of PRHI.
Corroborating, Dean Faculty of Allied Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Dr Dalhat Khalid, said the social autopsy as a strategy would gather and assemble community members to analyse issues around maternal and child health.
He added that in some instances where a woman died while giving birth, PRHI would conduct a social autopsy to identify the cause of the maternal death.
Khalid, a traditional leader of the area, said the social autopsy dialogue was attended by husbands, wives and other key stakeholders to ensure challenges around antenatal care were thoroughly addressed.
He said that the social autopsy innovation also addressed challenges around transporting women to health facilities during childbirth, and added that it secured 24 means of transportation for women in labour.
“This has solved a lot of delays in accessing PHCs during childbirth to about 75 per cent and antenatal care has drastically improved.
“Initially, we have only one day assigned for antenatal visits in Soba but due to women for such services the days were increased from one day to three days in a week,’’ he said.
In his remarks, Chairman Soba Local Government Area, Abdulmumin Gamagira, represented by Bala Audu, PHCs Cold-Chain Officer, restated LGA’s commitment to sustain the initiative.
Earlier, Project Coordinator of PRHI, Prof. Clara Ejembi described social autopsy as a tool that used the PHC approach to determine the salient social determinants of maternal and perinatal death.
According to her, it is a strategy that encourages group interaction with the family of the deceased woman and the wider local community to reflect and explore the social causes of death, identify improvements and work towards averting similar deaths.
The project coordinator recalled that the pilot programme was carried out in the Yakasai and Soba communities of Soba Local Government from 2019 to 2023.
“A total of 48 maternal and perinatal deaths occurred in Soba and Yakasai communities between Jan. 2022 and July 2023 and autopsies were carried out on all the deaths.
NAN
