INSIGHT: Maternal deaths drop by 44pc since 1990, says UN

Child mortality has fallen by more than 50% since 1990, a report by the World Health Organization and UN children's organisation Unicef says.

>The number of women dying during delivery in Tanga Region has decreased from 101 deaths out of 45,256 women who delivered in 2013 to 69 deaths out of 47,692 women who delivered last year.

Readers tend to pay little attention to newspaper stories on development. And even when they do, it is only when the story is made juicy. At this point, when almost everyone in Tanzania seems to be mesmerised by the political drama ahead of the October election, we are likely to witness that kind of thing.

>A reduction in maternal deaths  is one of the main goals of the Poverty Reduction Strategy and the health sector’s reform programme, but progress has been slow. There was a decline of 100 deaths per 100,000 live births from 2004-2007 to 2010-2013 (equivalent to 2.3 per cent) per year. This decline is slower than the Millennium Development Goal Target of 5.5 per cent per year.

As the world celebrates the International Day of the Midwife today, lack of skilled attendance at birth remains a major cause of maternal mortality because countries do not have adequate numbers of midwives to provide the needed care.

A total of 101 mothers and 275 out of 44,852 infants in Tanga Region lost their lives due to maternal and neonatal related complications respectively last year.

>With about 50 maternal deaths reported annually in Kasulu, district authorities have launched an awareness raising programme for expectant mothers in a bid to improve maternal and child health in the district.

The war against preventable birth-related deaths of mothers cannot be won as long as the practice of child marriage continues, it has been explained.