“WOMEN ARE NOT DYING BECAUSE OF ILLNESSES WE CANNOT TREAT. WOMEN ARE DYING BECAUSE SOCIETY HAS YET TO DECIDE THAT THEIR

LIVES ARE WORTH SAVING.”

MAHMOUD F. FATHALLA, RENOWNED AFRICAN OBSTETRICIAN

What is maternal death?

Maternal death is defined by the World Health Organization as the death of a woman from pregnancy-related causes during pregnancy or within 42 days of pregnancy.

Is it really a problem?

Maternal mortality is unacceptably high. About 295 000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2017. The vast majority of these deaths (94%) occurred in low-resource settings, and most could have been prevented.

Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa contributes a huge percentage of these deaths, which many at times are largely preventable. Another sad thing to note is that for every woman who dies, 20–30 women suffer short- or long-term illness or disability, including severe anaemia, damage to the reproductive organs, severe postpartum disability (such as obstetric fistula), chronic pain or infertility. This calls for urgent interventions by all concerned.

Adolescent girls under 15 years old are major victims and complications in pregnancy and childbirth are higher among adolescent girls age 10-19 (compared to women aged 20-24).

Why do they die?

Women die as a result of complications during and following pregnancy and childbirth or from other complications that exist before pregnancy but are worsened during pregnancy, especially if not properly addressed.

The major complications that account for nearly 75% of all maternal deaths are

• severe bleeding (mostly bleeding after childbirth)

• infections (usually after childbirth)

• high blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia)

• complications from delivery

• unsafe abortion.

Global target

The standard for any country is outlined in the SDG 3. SDG 3 includes an ambitious target: “reducing the global MMR to less than 70 per 100 000 births, with no country having a maternal mortality rate of more than twice the global average” by 2030.

How can African countries meet this target?

For Africa to meet the target by the year 2030, there must be concerted effort across board. Individuals, communities and governments must take an aggressive stance against maternal deaths by avoiding teenage pregnancies, reducing parity through family planning, improvements in the health and nutritional status of women, adequate training of traditional birth attendants and medical staffs attending deliveries.

It is crucial for governments to have the political will to increase funding and ensure the right legislations on women’s reproductive health.