Gov't expands maternal care under new SHA to cut deaths

Kenya is implementing sustained, wholesome health reform and delivery of services to curb maternal and neo-natal mortality, President William Ruto has said.

The President said the government has restructured Kenya's health financing framework, expanding pre-paid access to maternal care through the new Social Health Authority (SHA).

So far, he pointed out that the government has facilitated direct coverage for 50,000 vulnerable adolescent mothers, guaranteeing ante-natal, safe delivery and post-natal services.

Additionally, he said 38,000 mothers have been onboarded to ensure that cost is never the reason a young woman is denied safe childbirth.

“In this day and age, it is unacceptable that women continue to lose their lives while giving birth,” he added.

The President spoke during a High-Level Heads of State Side Event: From Commitment to Impact - Accelerating Maternal Mortality Reduction in Africa, on the sidelines of the 39th Ordinary African Union Summit, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Present were Presidents Julius Maada of Sierra Leone, Duma Boko of Botswana, Faustin-Archange Touadéra of Central African Republic, Taye Atske Selassie of Ethiopia and Rwanda Prime Minister Justin Nsengiyumva.

To ensure equity in healthcare delivery, the President said the government is also concentrating resources in 26 high-burden counties and delivering bundled medical equipment directly to last-mile facilities to strengthen emergency obstetric and newborn care.

He said the government has deployed 2,880 Community Health Promoters and 192 Community Health Assistants to extend coverage at grassroots level.

“These teams serve as the first point of contact in our villages and are supported by 25 Primary Care Networks that link local facilities to specialised referral care,” he said.

He noted that the recent reductions in global health financing, including support to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Supplies Partnership, threaten to reverse hard-won gains in family planning, maternal care and birth spacing across our region.

“Kenya’s response is to strengthen supply security through domestic capacity. We are implementing a 40% local procurement requirement to reduce exposure to external shocks,” he said.

The President said Kenya is keen on strengthening health intelligence and is moving from broad estimates to precise measurement through the Reproductive Age Mortality Survey approach.

He said this will ensure the government knows exactly who is dying, where and why.

The President invited partners to support accurate implementation and full digitisation of this data within a National Health Intelligence Platform.

President Maada of Sierra Leone said Africa has made a clear commitment to end maternal deaths, commitments he said must now be turned into tangible results.

“The question before us now is whether we are prepared to turn those commitments to results deliberately and consistently,” he said.