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THE IMPACT OF THE MASS MEDIA IN IMPROVING MATERNAL HEALTH (A case Study of Boripe Local Government)




CHAPTER ONE

1.0    Background to the Study

1.1    Introduction
          Of all the Millennium Development Goals, the least progress has been made on goal Number Five (MDG 5): Re­ducing maternal mortality by three-quar­ters by the year 2015. Every day, about 1,500 women across the globe die because of com­plications during pregnancy or childbirth, and 98 percent of these deaths, half a million an­nually, occur in developing countries. Another 10 to 20 million women develop physical or mental disabilities every year as a result of complicated pregnancies and deliveries.
          Sub-Saharan Africa leads this death toll, accounting for 50 percent of all maternal deaths worldwide, and South Asia accounts for another 35 percent (United Nations. 2000. United Nations Millennium Declaration). In addition to the tragedy of these preventable deaths, high maternal mortality comes with a high cost to the rest of society. Costs are both direct, including the cost of health care (either to families or to the health system), and indi­rect, in the form of income and productivity lost for both the mother and the family (child health, growth, and education all suffer when mothers die) (Gill et al. 2007).
          The recent progress report on the sub­ject, Countdown to 2015: Tracking Progress in Maternal, Newborn & Child Survival, de­fines as “high” any maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 300 or more maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Currently, 60 countries have MMR levels this high (UNICEF 2008). The regions (excluding high-income coun­tries) that had the highest aggregate MMR in 2005 are Sub-Saharan Africa (900 deaths per 100,000 live births) and South Asia (500). These stand in extreme contrast to the average rate among high-income countries, which was just 9 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in that same year. Worldwide, the average ma­ternal mortality ratio has declined at a rate of less than one percent per year between 1990 and 2005, according to the 2007 WHO/UNICEF/UNFPA/World Bank report on ma­ternal mortality (WHO 2007).
          Of all health indicators, maternal mor­tality reveals the greatest gap between rich and poor women, both between and within coun­tries. Health experts agree that the interventions needed to avert much of the burden of maternal and perinatal death and disability are known.           However, it has become increasingly clear that the success of these interventions depends on the capacity of the health system and the role play by mass media in each country to deliver quality care as well as creating awareness and especially in  girls’ education, family planning, good roads, and available transport for emergencies.
          There is no gain saying in the fact that mass media especially radio and television have a lot of responsibilities in the effort to reduce maternal mortality in our society. Apart from the responsibility of the mass media to entertain, it is also the priority of the mass media to educate, enlighten, sensitizing of varieties of issues which health is not an exceptional.
1.2    Statement of the Problem
          High level of illiteracy, poverty and cultural background have been attributed to increase in the number of maternal mortality in the world especially in sub shah Africa. This background have made many of them remain ignorant of what maternal mortality is all about including family planning concept.
          Apart from that many are residing in remote part of the society especially in the village where there poor infrastructural facilities like access to good health care, good road electricity, good water and access to radio and television.
          However, what mass media have been able to do and what they can do to reduce this curable risk of life in our society will be addressed in this research work.


1.3    Objectives of the Study
1.   To examine the role of mass media in bringing maternal mortality to a barest minimum if not totally bring to zero point.
2.   To study how mass media can improve on their health programmes.
3.   To know the rate at which mass media dedicate to women education especially on issue relating to maternal health and family planning.
4.   To know the challenges facing mass media in health education in Nigeria.
5.   To know if women especially those in the rural areas listen or watching health programme
6.   To study what channel do women get health education?
7.   To know if the rural women ever have access to mass media .

1.4    Research Questions
1.   To what extent has mass media being able to reduce maternal mortality in Boripe Local Government?
2.   Does mass media see educating women as their responsibility?
3.   What are the challenges facing mass media in reducing maternal mortality?
4.   To what extent do mass media reach the rural dwellers in terms of educating them on maternal health?
5.   what  is the future holds for women in Nigeria ?

1.5    Significance of the Study
          The significant of this study aims at revealing to the media practitioners and broadcast students, the role of mass media in reducing maternal health. The study will assist the media practitioners to know its role in keeping women informed concerning maternal related issues..



1.6    Scope of the Study
Although, the primary aim and objective of the project is to examine the role of mass media in reducing maternal mortality and childbirth. This topic itself has limited the scope of this study through the use of Boripe Local Government as a case study.   However, this can not be effectively talked without considering the demographic factor of the people in Boripe Local Government that respond to the questionnaires of this study.
Experience, education background, age, sex e. t. c must be considered before the distribution of research instruments.

1.7    Limitation to the Study
Wide research of this nature cannot be carried out without some constrains, this constrains pose a lot of limitations to this work.
Ø  Duration for the research work is relatively short.
Ø  Stress emanated from other academic activities is also another constrain.
Ø  Little materials are also available because the work is relatively new.
Ø  Financial constrain poses another challenges.
However, because of the aforementioned constrains, the scope of this research shall be narrowed down to Nigeria, in which discussion and analyses will revolves.

1.8    Definition of the Terms

Mass Media: These are device of mass dissemination of information to a wider audience such as: radio, television and newspapers.
Role: This simply means the functions or the impact.
Eradicating : It means  solving, cubing, reduce or minimizing.
Maternal Mortality: Death of women during birth or pregnancy. 



                                                  


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