Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has announced the launch of three months of activism aimed at ending maternal and newborn deaths in the country.
Speaking in Nairobi during the launch of the Maternal Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response Committee, the CS called on Kenyans to actively participate in the campaign by calling out health facilities that neglect maternal and newborn care services.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to achieving zero preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
Duale disclosed that over 1,000 health facilities have bank account issues, which have caused delays in claims settlement under the Social Health Authority (SHA).
The initiative is anchored within Kenya’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda and aligns with the national commitment that no woman should lose her life while giving birth and no newborn should die from preventable causes.
It will be advanced through the Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere (EWENE) Acceleration Plan.
The CS underscored that the MPDSR framework will be operationalised at facility, sub-county and county levels through routine, structured and action-oriented review meetings. Each reported death will prompt immediate corrective measures to ensure lessons learnt translate into concrete system reforms.
Persistent gaps
Findings from the reviews will guide national decision-making to address persistent gaps in emergency obstetric care, referral systems, blood and essential commodity availability, as well as staffing shortages.
“The evidence will inform policy reforms, targeted financing and coordinated implementation across the health system. The MPDSR approach aims to transform loss into learning by turning every maternal and perinatal death into actionable insight that protects future mothers and newborns”, he stated.
The government has outlined several transformative measures to support the initiative. Policy directives to the Social Health Authority (SHA) and the Digital Health Agency (DHA) will enable maternity reimbursement for qualifying Level 2 and Level 3 facilities, strengthening primary healthcare and reducing financial barriers to skilled delivery.
The SHA benefits package is also under review to align fully with national maternal and newborn care guidelines, while ambulance referral systems are being strengthened to improve timely access to lifesaving services.
Additionally, the National Blood Transfusion Services are being reinforced to address critical blood shortages identified in MPDSR reviews. Counties have been urged to prioritise human resources for health through recruitment, equitable deployment, continuous professional development and motivation of frontline health workers. Hon.
Duale called on healthcare providers to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, dignity, compassion and clinical excellence in maternal and newborn care.
He also tasked the Steering Committee with ensuring that its recommendations translate into tangible improvements in health facilities, referral networks, commodity security, financing mechanisms and workforce support to safeguard the lives of mothers and newborns nationwide.
Kenya is working toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, reducing maternal mortality to less than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births and neonatal mortality to below 12 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030.
Every year, approximately 5,000 mothers about 13–25 women die every day and nearly 30,000 newborns, translating to around 82 babies daily.
Additional reporting by Asha Khamis
