Out of the 50 704 live births recorded two years ago in Botswana, 89 women died during childbirth, Assistant Minister of Health Lawrence Ookeditse has revealed.
Botswana’s maternal mortality ratio had been hovering between 175 in 2015, 240 in 2021 and 175.5 in 2022. This means the country has its work cut and sleeves to be rolled if it is to attain the World Health Organisation target of a 70 maternal mortality ratio by 2030.
“This calls for concerted efforts by all stakeholders both governments, our worthy partners and the community itself to do all we can to ensure no woman dies while giving life. It should be everyone’s commitment to ensure every woman deserves a healthy beginning and future,” Ookeditse urged during the commemoration of World Health Day Commemoration held in Gaborone recently.
He added, “prioritise maternal health and new born health through early ante natal care, safe deliveries, HIV testing and proper management of complications. I implore health care providers to ensure families and communities support pregnant women and encourage safe delivery practices.”
Ookeditse emphasised the ministry’s commitment to end these preventable deaths through target interventions such as strengthening ante natal and post-natal care, enhancing public health campaigns, capacity building health care and strengthening collaborations with strategic partners.
He highlighted that there is intense training of health care professionals in emergency obstetric care and new born resuscitation as well as ensuring that maternity wards are well equipped to handle complications.
Maternal Health Consultant at the Ministry of Health, Dr Morrison Sinvula said for the past 40 years Botswana has been fighting to turn the tide against maternal mortality.
“In 1980 our maternal mortality ratio stood at 400 deaths per every 100 000 livebirths. After strategic interventions such as free maternal health services, increased ante natal care, strengthened emergency response, this number declined significantly reaching 127 per 1000 live births by 2015.”
However, Dr Sinvula noted that the progress has not been steady as between 2016 and 2017 maternal mortality stagnated at 144 per 100 000 live births. He lamented that the COVID 19 pandemic also reversed the hard-won gains.
Although maternal deaths are preventable, the major causes are excessive bleeding after child birth, hypertensive disorders and infections.
“Excessive bleeding after childbirth accounts for 30 percent of the maternal deaths, while hypertensive disorders claim 15 percent of maternal lives and infections contribute 12 percent to the deaths”, continued Dr Sinvula.
He said these deaths do not happen instantly, but are a result of three delays. “Delays in seeking care by pregnant women due to fear, cultural norms or lack awareness. Secondly delay to reach care due to distance poor roads and transport challenges which turn a manageable complication into a fatal one. Lastly, delay in receiving care due to overburdened health facilities, shortage of resources which prevent timely interventions” explained the maternal health specialist.”
