Nakaseke District Woman MP, Sarah Najjuma has Saturday morning participated in the Save a Mother Run in Kibuku District, a fundraiser organised by area MP Herbert Kinobere to save mothers who die during childbirth.
The run which started from Kasasira Health Center III in Kibuku District, was flagged off by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa.
Tayebwa first took Najjuma, a number of other legislators including Asuman Basalirwa, Alex Brandon Kintu, Solomon Silwany and the area residents through full body stretching before officially flagging it off and joining them to cover 5 kilometers.
Najjuma who has been at the forefront in agitating for better health service delivery in Nakaseke district, maintains a firm stance on rallying government to double efforts to reduce maternal mortality in the country.
She says there is “an urgent need to address the imbalance between demand and supply of healthcare services, improve the social and economic status of women in society as well as the quality of maternal and reproductive healthcare services, to win the battle against maternal deaths.”
According to the MP, government ought to prioritize health education and promotion at community level in order to encourage women to attend antenatal clinics and give birth in a health facility in the care of a skilled attendant.
She says stronger health systems should be established in order to improve access to high quality obstetric care.
“Women survive complications of pregnancy and childbirth in functional health systems, with efficient referral systems,” Najjuma told Plus News on Saturday moment after running the 5 kilometer race.
“There is an urgent need for a responsive healthcare system that takes into consideration population and disease trends,” she added.
The MP says today’s run has availed an opportunity to the leaders to interact with the locals for a cause and remind government and other stakeholders that maternal deaths are preventable if everyone in the healthcare chain plays his or her part.