Guyana will soon have a better picture of the care provided to new-born babies and pregnant mothers through a countrywide survey set to be conducted next month, with the goal of reducing maternal and child deaths.

Over the last two weeks those who would be involved in the data collection during next month’s survey underwent training sessions at the Hotel Tower conducted by two members of staff of the Department of Averting Maternal Death and Disability at Colombia University in New York.

The upcoming survey is being done in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and another of its international partners including PAHO, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNICEF with the Bureau of Statistics also playing a part.

According to Rita Lovell, co-ordinator of the survey programme, the survey will attempt to do an assessment of the emergency obstetric and new-born care needs at the various health institutions. She said the survey would be conducted throughout all the regions with all the hospitals and a number of other health institutions such as health centres being involved in the data collection.

“The intention is to assess maternal health care in general,” she said. She said all those who have been trained have health backgrounds with some of them being retired matrons and retirees from other senior positions in the health sector.

Emily Keyes, one of the trainers at the workshop, said following the survey there would be a better understanding about emergency and obstetric and new-born care services. She said also that the areas that need improvement would also be highlighted following the survey as the aim is to reduce and avoid maternal and child deaths.

The workshop and survey are all part of an agreement entered into between the ministry and UNFPA earlier this year under what is known as the Maternal Health Thematic Fund (MHTF) which would see Guyana receiving US$400,000 for the year 2009.

The UNFPA aid is in keeping with its mandate to help countries with the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), dealing with maternal health.

The MHTF is part of the ongoing partnership between the ministry and UNFPA that seeks to reduce maternal mortality as well as improve maternal and neo-natal health in Guyana.