The Western Cape has made huge strides in improving women’s health and, a [s]Cape Argus[/s] report says, statistics provided by the [b]Western Cape Department of Health[/b] show that maternal mortality has almost halved in five years, while antenatal check-ups have gone up. The drop in maternal mortality from 107.69 for every 100,000 births to 60, and reduction of HIV transmission from mothers to babies to less than two percent, were some of the success stories, [b]head of WC Health, Dr Craig Househam[/b], said. In 2009 the prevention of mother-to-child transmission was at 3.6%, but this had dropped to 1.9% between 2011/2012, while the rate of first antenatal visits before 20 weeks increased from 46.4% during the same period to 58% last year. Househam also revealed that the number of HIV-positive patients on antiretrovirals would go from 75,000 in 2009 to more than 150,000 by the end of this year. The province also boasted a R2.7bn investment in health infrastructure, including clinics, ambulance stations and disaster management centres, over the past four years.
[link url=http://wwwiol.co.za/lifestyle/women-s-health-improves-in-w-cape-1.1654217#.UxBq9uOSzE0]Full Cape Argus report[/link]
Western Cape makes strides in improving women’s health
