By Paul Madise
Lilongwe, June 4: Health experts are advocating for a collaborative approach across different sectors to help Malawi reach its target of reducing maternal mortality by 2030.
This follows the release of an assessment report by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 28, which highlighted a decline in Malawi’s maternal mortality rate in recent years.
In an interview with Malawi News Agency, George Jobe, a health rights activist and Malawi Equity Health Network (MEHN) Executive Director, expressed gratitude towards government’s ongoing commitment to addressing maternal mortality in the country.
Jobe praised the Ministry of Health’s efforts and acknowledged the contributions of NGOs and community leaders in the fight against maternal mortality, saying, “this progress is commendable and gives hope that we can achieve our targeted rate.”
He also shared that Malawi’s overall maternal mortality ratio decreased from 675 to 439 per 100,000 live births between 2010 and 2015/16, and further decreased from 439 to 381 per 100,000 live births between 2017 and 2020.
Health expert Maziko Matemba also expressed contentment with the developments.
“We are pleased to see a significant decline in Malawi’s maternal mortality rate in recent years. However, there is still work to be done to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030,” he said.
During the period from 2017 to 2022, Thyolo District Hospital, a secondary-level facility, successfully reduced maternal and neonatal mortality by more than 50%.