The Yvonne Jacobus Maternity Waiting Home in Annai, Region Nine has been officially commissioned and will serve expectant mothers in the North Rupununi district, the Department of Public Information (DPI) said on Saturday. The facility can house seven mothers at a time.
Costing approximately $17 Million, the waiting home is located near the Annai Health Centre and is expected to bridge the gap for expectant mothers in accessing maternity services especially as they near their due date.
DPI said that the Waiting Home has individual rooms, a kitchenette, washroom and bathroom facilities, a sitting area and an examining room which the doctor stationed at the Annai Health Centre will utilise for regular check-ups for the mothers staying at the home. Among other amenities are hammocks for the mothers to relax in the porch area.
DPI said that the waiting home was named after a resident of Aranaputa, Yvonne Janet Jacobus, a midwife who has served the people of the North Rupununi for over 50 years. Jacobus retired in 2007 but still served as a midwife in the district up until she became ill and died earlier this year.
At the official commissioning ceremony, Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock commended the work of Nurse Jacobus and stated that the naming of the home in her honour is most fitting.
Lawrence said that after taking into consideration the high rates of the maternal deaths in past years, the Public Health Ministry conducted an assessment to determine where the deaths were located and what were the major causes.
“No woman should lose her life, giving birth… We recognise also that coupled with all of those medical things that have been happening (high blood pressure and haemorrhaging) is that of access to health services,” Lawrence said.
According to Lawrence, an Inter-American Development Bank loan was acquired to fund targeted interventions in reducing Maternal deaths in Regions 3, 4, and 9. To date, DPI said that the loan has funded training for more than 40 Community Health Workers (CHW) in Region 9 with a special focus in the area of primary health care and maternal and child health.
A section of the Amerindian hostel in Princes Street, Georgetown has also been refurbished and designated to house pregnant Indigenous women.
Allicock noted that these are steps towards preserving the life of Indigenous women. “This will not be the only activity that we will collaborate with the Ministry of Public Health on; we will continue to join forces to put together many other initiatives that will benefit the indigenous peoples of Guyana”, he said, according to DPI.
Annai’s Toshao, Zacharias Norman said he is pleased with the prompt response by the government since the suggestions for the establishment of a waiting home and the provision of an ambulance made at the last National Toshaos Council meeting have been fulfilled.
