Siaya: TIKO Platform to Reduce Maternal Deaths By Promoting Antenatal Clinic Visits

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TIKO platform partners with Siaya’s health department to reduce maternal deaths targeting teenage mothers.

The partnership will see adolescent girls maintains the Ante-natal Clinic (ANC) visits for easy checkup of their babies.

It is reported that delay to attend ANC is a main cause of pregnancy complications.

According to Siaya County Reproductive Health Coordinator Pamela Josephine the partnership is not only timely but also addresses a key area of maternal health.

“We have pregnant young mothers at the community who are reluctant to come for the four Ante-natal care clinics at the facilities. We have a staggering graph and data is not matching the ANC visits. We hope the idea by the Tiko platform would help reverse the trend.

Josephine says that the mothers have been visiting health facilities late for reasons known to themselves and so the program will help establish their problems so a to act on them, in time.

“If we get their reasons, we will be able to diagnose the problems that deter them from attending the four required ANC visits,” said Josephine, adding “its hard to audit a death and its depressing so lets not wait for pregnancy complications to arise for you to visit health facilities.”

“I want to thank Tiko and facilitators for rising to the occasion to help tame maternal deaths,” said Josephine

Pauline Zuki, a representative of TIKO platforms on her part said they are equipping health-in-charges with guidelines, pictorial materials with key messages that will be easy for the young mothers to embrace for their children to grow and thrive.

Zuki said the program being rolled out in Rwambwa, Jamii Medical Center, Sigomere, Lumumba, home ground facility and Sigomere sub-county hospital for the next 9 months, have been proven in certain counties.

Zuki added that the aim is to reduce maternal deaths, improve Ante-natal care and hospital deliveries.

“We have established through Demographic Health Survey that Siaya is ranked 4th in terms of teenage pregnancies and its this phenomenon that is driving Tiko to innovative a project that will support the pregnant adolescents aged between 14-19.

“TIKO is reintroducing a strategy that will see the adolescent girls have psychosocial support and get tailor-made support to enable them access the ANC services up to the fourth one.

“We are going to support service providers and mobilizers to implement this initiative and pregnant adolescents in their journey,” said Zuki adding that “we expect by the end of five months we will significantly have saved lives,”