President Gloria Arroyo has vowed to redouble government efforts to further reduce maternal mortality rate (MMR) nationwide, and put the Philippines on schedule in all eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) under the United Nations global agenda for development.

Kicking off the country's Women's Month celebration in Calamba City, Laguna last Monday, the President said her administration has launched a two-pronged strategy to address the MRR that involves the stepping up of health services for pregnant women, and natural family planning.

The Philippines is a signatory to the 2000 Millennium Declaration on the global agenda for development by 2015.

From 209 mothers who died at childbirth per 100,000 live births in 1993, the MMR has gone down to 162 by 2006, according to the 2007 Philippines Midterm Progress Report (PMPR) on the MDGs.

In calling for further reduction of the MMR, the President explained that while the Philippines is on schedule in seven out of the eight MDGs, it is imperative that the country exerts more effort to lower the maternal mortality rate further. Most surveys indicate a decline in the mortality ratio in the Philippines.

To improve maternal health, the President has ordered Health Secretary Francisco Duque to help local government units(LGUs) upgrade their primary hospitals to secondary hospitals.

She said that through this programme, secondary hospitals would extend obstetric and gynecological and surgical services, adding that pregnant women have to be weaned away from home-based delivery where most maternal deaths occur.

For safe motherhood, we are shifting to facility-based delivery instead of home-based delivery she said.

The President also cited a 2006 survey which found that half or 50.6 per cent of married women within the reproductive ages of 15-49 years practice family planning, with most of them using contraceptives.

The President pointed out that the Philippines was the first country to fund programmes for women, and fund hospitals to help women needing medical attention.

Source: Thai Press Reports, 6 Mar 2008