High maternal deaths in rural areas under spotlight

Emmanuel Kafe

THE Government has started training healthcare workers to address poor maternal care in rural areas.

This comes after it emerged that these areas are disproportionately affected by maternal deaths owing to inordinate delays in the provision of appropriate and adequate care to women after their arrival at health facilities.

Such a delay, also referred to as the “third delay”, reportedly accounts for 78 percent of all maternal deaths in rural provinces.

In addition to training healthcare workers to manage pregnancy-related complications, the Government also intends to address the shortage of healthcare workers, burnout, low morale, negative attitude and limited skills.

The training includes the management of obstetrical and neonatal emergencies, as well as the establishment of maternity waiting homes to increase access to antenatal care and reduce home deliveries.

Ministry of Health and Child Care national maternal health officer Dr Chipo Chimamise said most women die during childbirth due to delays in accessing appropriate care.

“Eighty-six percent of maternal deaths are linked to the ‘third delay’, with 78 percent of these deaths occurring in rural provinces.

“The lack of skilled personnel and quality care in rural areas are pushing maternal mortality rates to unacceptable levels,” she said.

Ninety-five percent of maternal deaths, Dr Chimamise added, are preventable.

She, however, said the Government is working to improve the quality of maternal care at all levels, including the provision of critical equipment, essential medicines and consumables. “We are also implementing a maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response system, as well as instituting maternal and perinatal death audits to identify areas for improvement,” she said.

Zimbabwe has made notable progress as maternal mortality has declined from 614 deaths per 100 000 live births in 2014 to 462 deaths per 100 000 live births in 2019.

But the Government believes there is scope to further reduce maternal deaths.

Globally, maternal mortality remains unacceptably high, with mortality occurring every two minutes and about 800 maternal deaths reported every day in 2020, according to the World Health Organisation.

Public health expert Dr Johannes Marisa said Zimbabwe can reduce its maternal mortality rate and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 deaths per 100 000 live births by 2030.

“There is a need for continued investment in both healthcare infrastructure and education for healthcare workers to ensure that Zimbabwe can meet its goal of drastically reducing maternal deaths,” he said.

“With 72 percent of maternal morbidity and mortality in Zimbabwe linked to pregnancy-related complications, every step towards improving the quality and accessibility of care is crucial.”