Revolutionizing Maternal Health in Africa
Revolutionizing Maternal Health in Africa
Globally, a woman dies of pregnancy-related causes every two minutes, most of these deaths are preventable with the right care at the right time. Maternal mortality is a challenging issue affecting women of reproductive age in Africa. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), despite the global decline in maternal mortality ratio between 2000 and 2020, maternal mortality is still a disaster in the African region, and more than 69% of maternal deaths occur in this region.
Severe bleeding after birth also called postpartum hemorrhage is the most common cause of death and can kill a healthy woman within hours if she is unattended. One of the sustainable development goals (SDG 3.1) is to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.
Fortunately, the Bills and Melinda and Gates Foundation and other key stakeholders discovered 7 simple, yet cheap solutions to the preventable loss that has occurred for years. In a video by Na Daily, he says; this cheap solution can save 2 million mothers and babies. What are these solutions?
1. One pill to heal pregnancy infections
2. One plastic sheet to prevent blood loss
3. One Iron injection to prevent anemia in mothers
4. One steroid injection to help babies stay alive
5. One powder to help them eat better
6. Vitamin supplements
7. Am ultrasound machine to detect internal bleeding.
“No mother and child deserve to die because of inaccessibility to these.”