Quintuplets mother’s death is one too many

Evelyne Namukhula and her babies (right). She died on Saturday, a few days after two of her newborns passed away. [Courtesy]

Within one month, Evelyne Namukhula rose from obscurity to fame, then to oblivion.

The woman who gave birth to quintuplets at the Kakamega General Hospital in March this year died at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret last Sunday.

Carrying the pregnancy to near term is no mean achievement; she symbolised the strength of a woman.

The cause of death has been listed as breathing complications, though a blood clot associated with caesarian births.

Coming only eight days after she lost two of her five new born babies, Namukhula’s death has broken the hearts of many who looked forward to a happy ending to the story.

It is a death many hope could have been prevented, especially now that the remaining three babies will grow up not knowing their mother’s love as she would have better offered. Namukhula’s death points to the maternal health crisis in our hospitals where death is always lurking.

But while we appreciate government efforts to lessen infant and mother mortality rates through the setting up of the Linda Mama Programme that gives expectant women free access to pre and post-natal maternal health services, the government should step up efforts to stop mother and child death during and after birth.

The First Lady’s Marathon dubbed the Beyond Zero Campaign is doing a lot to address these deaths and so are the likes of Bill Gates Foundation.

Yet despite all these, a lot more remains to be done. Let Namukhula’s death not be in vain.