Pretoria - KwaZulu-Natal has assembled a team of specialists, including obstetricians, paediatricians and advanced midwives, to help the province reduce the maternal and child mortality rate.
"This is a step that will go down as having been instrumental in turning around the mortality rates of mothers and babies," said KZN Premier, Dr Zweli Mkhize while delivering the State of the Province Address on Tuesday.
The specialist team, which was put together by provincial Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, will provide leadership in care for mothers and their supervision in hospitals and clinics after birth.
Mkhize said their targets for reduction of maternal and infant mortality are guided by the Millennium Development Goals targets.
He further stressed the need for a massive provincial campaign to get people to change their behaviour to help reduce the major burden diseases including HIV and Aids and Tuberculosis (TB), and lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, cancer, diabetes and trauma due to motor accidents and criminal violence.
HIV and Aids and TB are the major contributors to the state of poor health in KwaZulu-Natal, with a 70 percent co-infection rate.
As part of the provincial Health Department's turnaround strategy, the treatment for TB has been intensified, targeting a yearly improvement of 5 percent in the cure rate and ensuring that TB treatment is readily available.
"... The number of people on treatment [has increased] to more than 470 000 and the HIV Counselling and Testing Campaign has reached 1.4 million people - the highest in the country so far... male medical circumcision has been performed on over 20 000 people since ISILO [Zulu King Zwelithini Zulu] made the call in 2009," Mkhize said.
The Provincial Aids Council has also directed all districts and local municipalities to submit plans to combat HIV and Aids and TB in every ward.
"These must include monitoring access to treatment and food gardens, reports are expected in March," Mkhize noted.
He commended work done to improve the quality of health services, included reducing patient waiting time and ambulance response time.
"The morale of the staff has been boosted through rural allowances and Occupation Specific Dispensation. More than 3 000 nursing assistants and enrolled nurses will be trained and employed this year."
The provincial Health Department's future goals include the construction of massive capital projects, including starting King Edward VIII at a new site, refurbishment of Pixley ka Seme Hospital and several other hospitals such as Edendale, King George V and other facilities.
