Expectant Kenyan mothers can now breathe a sigh of relief after global philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates unveiled seven life-saving innovations and practices they say can be delivered by midwives and birth attendants.
According to the World Health Organisation(WHO) Kenya loses 295,000 women annually to preventable causes related to pregnancy and child birth.
The seven innovations include a bundle of interventions that can reduce postpartum haemorrhage, the number one cause of maternal death, by 60 per cent for less than Sh 150 per package,Bifidobacteria (B. Infantis), a new probiotic supplement that, when given to an infant alongside breastmilk, combats malnutrition—one of the leading causes of newborn deaths, multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) that boost survival rates for babies by helping replete nutrient stores in pregnant women and ensuring those vital nutrients are transferred to the baby, a new one-time infusion of IV iron for women that replenishes iron reserves during pregnancy, protecting against and treating anemia, a condition that is both a cause and effect of postpartum hemorrhage and affects almost 37 per cent of pregnant women, antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) which are given to women who will give birth prematurely to accelerate fetal lung growth providing several weeks of maturation in just a few days, azithromycin which reduces maternal infections during pregnancy and prevents infections from spiraling into sepsis—the cause of 23 per cent of maternal deaths and reduces mortality when given to infants in high-mortality settings as well as an AI enabled portable ultrasound that empowers nurses and midwives to monitor high-risk pregnancies in low-resource settings to ensure that risks are diagnosed and addressed early.
This also comes after early this year the Kenya Medical Practioners and Dentists Council(KMPDC) highlighted that expectant women filed the highest number of medical negligence cases against medics as specifically, pregnancy-related cases of medical negligence accounted for 27 per cent of all the 1,301 complaints brought to KMPDC since its inception.
According to their findings in the seventh annual Goalkeepers Report by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation co-authored by foundation co-chairs Melinda French Gates and Bill Gates, the report highlights new data that shows the potential of scaling up global access to seven innovations and practices that address the leading causes of maternal and newborn deaths as since 2016, progress in reducing global maternal mortality has stalled and in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa including Kenya, death rates have risen steadily.
“By making new innovations accessible to those who need them most, 2 million additional lives could be saved by 2030, and 6.4 million lives by 2040. That’s 2 million families spared an unimaginable heartbreak—and 2 million more people who can shape and enrich our world,” Bill and Melinda say in an official statement.
They acknowledge the global efforts between 2000 and 2015 that significantly improved the health of mothers and babies but point out that progress has stalled since Covid-19 pandemic hit and explain how the discovery of revolutionary information about maternal and child health in the last ten years led to low-cost and easy-to-implement innovations and practices that prevent and treat deadly childbirth complications such as post-partum hemorrhaging, infections, and maternal anemia while calling for immediate action to help put the world back on track to achieve the global goal of cutting the maternal mortality rate to less than 70 out of 100,000 births and newborn mortality to 12 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030.
“As is so often the case in global health, innovations aren’t making their way to the people who need them most—women in low-income countries, as well as Black and Indigenous women in high-income countries like the United States, who are dying at three times the rate of white women. That needs to change,” Melinda said.
“We have seen over and over again that when countries actually prioritize and invest in women’s health, they unleash a powerful engine for progress that can reduce poverty, advance gender equality, and build resilient economies,” she further highlighted.
“Over the past decade, the field of child health has advanced faster and farther than I thought I’d see in my lifetime,” said Bill Gates.
“If our delivery can keep pace with our learning—if researchers can continue developing new innovations and skilled health workers can get them to every mother and child who needs them—then more babies will survive those crucial first days.”
They further point out that Across the world, nearly 800 women die in childbirth every day.
“Though deaths of children under five have continued to decline since the mid-2010s, the first month of a newborn’s life continues to be the most dangerous, accounting for almost half of all under-5 deaths today. An estimated 74 per cent of child deaths happen during a baby’s first year,” they said while adding that halfway to the deadline for the sustainable development goals (SDGs), they have found that on 18 indicators—from poverty to gender equality, education to food security, health to climate—the world is off track.
“It underscores the urgent need for action, as well as a renewed global commitment to ensure a more equitable and safe future for all by 2030. For mothers and babies, having access to the quality health care they need to live long and healthy lives will require policy changes, political will, and more investment in women’s health and health care workers, including midwives.”
