Human resource issues in maternal and neonatal health in india

Abstract

One in seven women die from complications related to pregnancy or delivery in some of the African countries, compared to one in many thousands in Europe and North America. More than 95 per cent of maternal deaths occur in developing countries. In the developing countries complications of pregnancy mainly due to inadequate Emergency Obstetric Care (EmOC) is the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age. They account for 18 per cent of the burden of health disease in reproductive age group-more than any other single health problem (World Bank ,1993). At least 40 per cent of pregnant women experience some type of complication during their pregnancies. Most maternal complications and death occur either during or shortly after delivery and are difficult to predict. Nearly 15 per cent of complications are life-threatening that require immediate EmOC. However, many of them do not receive adequate EmOC. Hence, “Safe Motherhood” will remain a dream in the absence of adequate EmOC. As in any services, health services are highly dependent of the human resources - its availability, quality, commitment and performance. EmOC services are even more dependent on highly skilled human resources as they need complex procedures as Caesarean Section (CS) and other emergency procedures. Thus ensuring access to quality maternal services including EmOC is a major challenge in Human Resources Management (HRM). In this paper we present an outline of key issues in HRM which specifically relate to MH and EmOC, based on our experience in India and review of literature.