OFF SAFEMOTHERHOOD, FUEL AVAILABILITY AND THE DEALTH OF MPHATSO BANDA.

BY: Magede Si Wandale

It’s very ill-fated and agonizing for a mother, relative and husband when the happiness turns into mourning after waiting for 9 cool months expecting a baby to be born only to last part loosing both the mother and the newborn.

There goes a story of Mphatso Banda, a woman from Nkhatabay who has freshly   lost her life and the newborn she was expecting due to lack of fuel at a health facility in Nkhatabay district. This is not only the first occurrence but also an accumulation to a previous interconnected case in just 2 weeks in the same area.

It’s very heartrending that in a country where fuel supply is normalized and projects to ensure the reduction of maternal   fatality through safe motherhood are put in place the lives of expectant woman are still continuing to be at risk because of some economics reforms that are being made by some individuals which are heartless but the facility officials, Ministry of health or government must be responsible for such reckless.

In just two weeks, Nkhatabay alone in the same health facility lives of 2 women have been lost due squat or absolutely no supply of fuel. It has    been recognized that at this facility which used to be allocated 200 litres of fuel for an ambulance per month, the fuel allocation at this facility was reduced to 40 litres which has been a major blow to the facility perpetuating the maternal death in the country when our leaders are busy in podiums assuring us that our country has fuel everywhere and maternal deaths are to be reduced with safe motherhood.

I think it’s high time as Malawians we must stand for ourselves to proclaim the truth and the real situation in our areas rather than being lied to by our leaders in podiums that things are okay in the country when someone, some where is continuing to lose life because of few greedy leaders who want us to believe that things are okay in the country when innocent women like Mphatso Banda continue to die because the hospital they though could give them life runs out of fuel for emergency.

If the hospitals are failing to be allocated with enough fuel for ambulances, so where is the fuel you are boosting about? Where is safe motherhood when expecting women are continuing to die in hospitals because there fuel allocation was revised from 200 to 40 liters a month?