By Onyimbi Nelson
Highlighting recent statistics on maternal mortality and morbidity, the government still has a lot to do through the Ministry of Health and other related sectors to strengthen and develop interventions that have been tailored to curb and prevent loss of lives through pregnancy-related complications, loss of blood, and infections in the transition to motherhood. In that same breath, politicians and other leaders should take up spaces and platforms to champion this course. However, our health system still exposes glaring gaps that slow down the development agenda targets related to reducing maternal mortality and morbidity, including understaffing, inaccessible health facilities, and a weak medical supplies procurement system.
Contrary to expectation, the period of childbirth, instead of being positively looked forward to, is still seen by many as a period of worry because of the lack thereof of adequate and favorable conditions for the transition to motherhood. Statistics existing indicate that about 21 women die daily from childbirth and pregnancy-related causes. Translated annually, maternal deaths countrywide are far much more than those from road accidents and terrorism.
In order to prevent mortality and pregnancy-related complications, we should be able to stand as individuals, organizations, and citizens in order to support mechanisms that mitigate such. Giving an example, driven by the slogan that no mother should lose her life while giving life from preventable causes, the former First Lady Margaret Kenyatta as a public figure was able to push the Beyond Zero Campaign as an initiative. Since the inception of the campaign supported by the free maternity program by the government, it reported positive outcomes and the indicators show that with consistency, the outcome is expected to grow with such initiatives. Other interventions include addressing the main social determinants, ensuring skilled deliveries, and training traditional midwives, who are shown to still be preferred by about 8 out of 10 expectant mothers to health professionals in Busia County according to recent research. This is also a way to bridge services from community health units to national referral facilities as the health infrastructure continues to grow.
In line with developing maternal health infrastructure, there is also a need to train and employ adequate maternal staff, develop safer and more inclusive cities conducive to health seekers, and debunk attitudes in order to increase accessibility of health services, until no woman dies while giving birth.
Onyimbi Nelson, is a NAYA-Kenya SAIC Health Advocate
