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Nov 20, 2007
Misoprostol's importance to mitigate maternal mortality due to postpartum hemorrhage highlighted at the Annual Meeting of
Ob/Gyns in Nigeria
Berkeley, California Venture Strategies for Health and Development (VSHD) sponsored a misoprostol workshop at the 41st Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON) in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, November 14-17, 2007. The theme of the Conference was “Intersectoral Collaboration for Promoting Maternal and Neonatal Health”, with the sub-themes of “Postpartum Hemorrhage” (PPH) and “Prevention of Cervical Cancer”. More than 1000 national and international participants attended the conference, including the country's leading obstetricians and gynecologists, pediatricians and neonatologists, nurses and midwives, policymakers, key government officials, donor agency representatives and the mass media.
The VSHD misoprostol workshop was well received.
Dr. Moji Odeku of the Family Health Division of the Federal Ministry of Health provided a focused presentation titled
"National Policy and Response to Misoprostol Dissemination in
Nigeria" in which she recommended the administration of misoprostol by trained primary level Community Health Extension Workers to better access the majority of Nigerian women. VSHD Country Programs Manager, Dr. Diafuka
Saila-Ngita, presented on VSHD's misoprostol program of registration of the drug for PPH and its countrywide distribution in Nigeria and other developing countries. VSHD capitalized on the opportunity to disseminate
evidence-based research on misoprostol, materials and samples to
conference participants. At the close of the conference several key resolutions were made; resolution number 2 highlighted the importance of misoprostol to mitigate maternal mortality due to PPH: "2. Noting the high rate of maternal mortality in Nigeria due to postpartum hemorrhage, conference participants call on all stakeholders to scale up interventions to address this cause of maternal mortality. This consists of the more widespread use of oxytocin for the management of the third stage of labor (according to WHO standards), and training of all levels of health workers on the correct use of misoprostol and anti-shock garment, particularly those in rural areas where most deliveries take place. Misoprostol has proven to be a powerful uterotonic for preventing and treating postpartum haemorrhage." [editor's emphasis] |
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