Healthcare practitioners battle to restore maternal services after drastic disruption
Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Healthcare professionals across the African continent have been investing in the restoration of maternal healthcare services after an initial disruption caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Health officials in countries across the Eastern, Western and Southern Africa have struggled to restore services after an initial degradation of critical care, which saw countries reporting unusually low levels of patients seeking maternity services.
In Kenya, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported a drastic decline in the number of hospital visits during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic outbreak before a gradual recovery.
At least 1.8 million lesser hospital facility visits were recorded in Kenya, between January and June 2020, reflecting the huge impact of the coronavirus lockdowns on the ability of patients in need of maternity services, the WHO reported.
The WHO issued new guidelines to the healthcare authorities, urging for proper record-keeping to measure the exact impact of the coronavirus pandemic on various healthcare services.
The data shared by the WHO shows up to 1.8 million lesser outpatient visits were recorded in Kenya from March 2020, the first month of the coronavirus outbreak in Kenya before a slight increase in the number of outpatient visits were recorded from June 2020.
The slight impact on the access to maternity services offered at the various health facilities were a result of the closure of hospitals and government directives on the delivery of essential services.
The African Union's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Africa CDC, convened a series of meetings since the outbreak of the pandemic, to urge authorities to prioritise maternal healthcare services in the middle of the pandemic.
Dr Mervyne Venge, a Zimbabwean Obstetrician and gynecologist with the Paririnyatwa Group of Hospitals, said during a webinar by the Africa CDC, that the outbreak of COVID-19 altered the way critical care was being provided to women in need.
The pandemic forced authorities to look for solutions to maintain critical infrastructure around maternal healthcare, according to medics.
Amid the huge impact that the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic was having on the ability of women to access services, there was also the need for critical care for women visiting facilities for specialised care.
To deal with these needs, the WHO, the Africa CDC and the health ministries were forced to respond to the in-facility needs of women in need of critical care.
The introduction of the COVID-19 lockdowns affected non-COVID-19 related healthcare services.
The initial steps to improve the availability of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed capacity and other critical healthcare services in both public and private hospitals mostly got the health authorities engaged during the first few months of the coronavirus outbreak.
However, the need to improve the critical care for women in need of critical care such as the delivery mothers, women in need of care after delivery and those seeking services after birth increased.
Professional medical bodies also joined calls for the need to improve maternal, neonatal and postnatal care, which resulted into improved access for women.
The easing of certain restrictions around access to medical services allowing the carrying out of elective surgeries also enabled more women seeking crucial medical care to access.
These also included child care and reproductive healthcare services. At the Kalobeyei Refugee Settlement in Kakuma, northern Kenya, the UN Refugee Agency, said it continued to expand access to women seeking maternal healthcare services during the pandemic.
The UNHCR, in partnership with the Kenya Red Cross Society, operated healthcare services at the Natukobenyo Health Clinic, managed to provide services to the refugee population in Kakuma and Kolobeyie settlements in the northern region of Kenya, near the border with South Sudan.
The need to heighten the Infection, Prevention and Control measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus especially amongst women seeking maternity services has dominated debate amongst healthcare professionals in Africa.
The infection control measures would help reduce maternal health complications and the co-infections which might have arisen during the pandemic.
A survey conducted at medical facilities in Zimbabwe before surgeries related to childbirth showed 25% of the patients had COVID-19 before surgery, according to Dr Vanga.
There were cases reported after the surgery had been done. The Zimbabwean survey covering a sample size of 1000 patients in Zimbabwean hospitals also showed that at least 75% of those tested later developed some forms of chest-relates complications.
The safety of the maternal healthcare services during the pandemic have been guaranteed by ensuring the continued supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), doctors had to upgrade safe surgeries involving maternal cases as opposed to the postponement of cases such as elective surgeries which had been announced at the start of the pandemic.
"Effective infection control prevention strategies was responsible for curbing 11% cases of maternal healthcare complications related to childbirth and newborn care," Dr Vanga told a webinar, convened by the Africa CDC recently to help upgrade the quality of maternal healthcare.
-0- PANA AO/VAO 31Aug2021
