Save mothers from death during pregnancy and after childbirth

Women continue dying of preventable causes. [iStockphoto]

An Egyptian professor, Mahmoud F Fathalla, once observed, "Women are not dying because of diseases we cannot treat. They are dying because societies have yet to make the decision that their lives are worth saving." This statement remains true today especially in African countries as it was when the good Professor said it.

African countries contribute the greatest proportion of the world's estimated 300,000 maternal deaths yearly. The average maternal mortality ratio (MMR) for Africa is about 400 per 100,000 live births. There is a huge variation in MMRs between African countries, with as high as 1,150 in South Sudan and as low as 37 in Egypt. Kenya's MMR is estimated at around 355 per 100,000, according to the most recent census.