The Ministry of Health states that there has been no increase in maternal deaths in Sri Lanka due to the COVID pandemic. Dr. Chitramali de Silva, Director of the Maternal and Child Health Unit of the Ministry of Health stated this at a special media briefing at the Government Information Department today (05) on the direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 epidemic and South Asian countries’ response to the UNICEF report. “The maternal mortality rate in 2020 is one death more than in 2019 and the average maternal mortality rate in Sri Lanka is between 90 and 100 per year,” she said. She assured that although the death rate and mortality rate in the country will increase in any epidemic situation, the Family Health Bureau, which is the headquarters of the Ministry of Maternal and Child Health, has been active in Sri Lanka since the first COVID patient was reported. “That is to say, there is a special emphasis on how to properly carry out maternal and child health services under an epidemic situation, to minimize our maternal mortality under these conditions and to reduce maternal complications and to reduce neonatal and neonatal mortality,” she said.

Source: The Nation April 05, 2021 06:45 UTC