The country’s maternal mortality crisis has Kenya’s health sector leaders, civil society, government, and development partners ringing the alarm for action to end avoidable deaths.
At the forum, Dr. Edward Serem of the Ministry of Health disclosed that maternal death ratio in Kenya is 355 deaths per 100,000 live births.
He went ahead to explain that this would mean that nearly 6,000 mothers die every year in Kenya or 20 women every day on average.
On his part, Dr. Serem lamented that the sector has been receiving a lot of money every year, but the results have not been impressive.
A call was made for more vigorous advocacy and higher leadership accountability to see that health system reforms are sustainable. Dr. Kireki Omanwa, Consultant Obstetrician-Gynecologist, and President of the Kenya Obstetrics and Gynecology Society mentioned excessive bleeding after childbirth (postpartum hemorrhage) as the major cause of maternal deaths.
Besides, he informed that the problem is made worse by the lack of routine commodities in quite a number of health facilities.
Responding to this, Lisa Mushega, Project Lead on Maternity, Newborn, and Child Health at HENNET, said that Kenya cannot remain only a policy country but must adopt, in full, the life-saving interventions that are already there.
The forum brought together key stakeholders united in the goal of reducing maternal and newborn deaths underscoring that no woman should die whilst giving life.
