According to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report published Thursday, the continent of Africa is expected to see a slowdown in the advancements made over the past ten years in the fight against maternal and infant mortality.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for health were broken down into nine targets, and the Atlas of African Health Statistics 2022 found that if progress is to continue at the current rate, more funding will be required. Reducing maternal mortality will be one of the hardest goals to reach.
According to the Atlas 2022, by 2030, there will be 390 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births in sub-Saharan Africa. This is significantly higher than the average of 13 deaths per 100 000 live births observed in Europe in 2017 and more than five times the 2030 SDG target of fewer than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. It exceeds the 211 average for the entire world. At the current rate of decline, Africa will need to reduce its rates by 86% from 2017, the most recent year for which data were available, in order to meet the SDG target.
The infant mortality rate in the area is 72 for every 1000 live births. By 2030, there will likely be 54 deaths per 1000 live births, far exceeding the reduction target of less than 25 per 1000, based on the current 3.1% annual rate of decline.
“Africa has scored some of the fastest reduction rates globally in key health objectives, but the momentum is waning. This means that for many African women, childbirth remains a persistent risk and millions of children do not live long enough to celebrate their fifth birthday,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “It is crucial that governments make a radical course-correction, surmount the challenges and speed up the pace towards the health goals. These goals aren’t mere milestones, but the very foundations of healthier life and well-being for millions of people.”
Even though the region’s progress toward important health goals, like vaccine coverage, is slowing down, it has made outstanding strides in some areas during the first decade of the twenty-first century. Neonatal death rates decreased by 21%, maternal mortality decreased by 28%, and under-5 mortality decreased by 35%. All three targets have stagnated in the past ten years, especially maternal mortality. Although 56.3% of women in reproductive age (15-49) in Africa had access to modern contraceptives in 2020, the continent still performed the worst in terms of family planning compared to the global average of 77%.
The COVID-19 pandemic’s disruptive impact has made the slowdown worse. During the pandemic, vital health services such as antenatal care, immunisation, neonatal intensive care units, and postnatal care for women and newborns were interrupted. Since 2021, outbreaks of diseases that can be prevented by vaccination have also increased in Africa. Between January and March 2022 and the same time the year before, measles cases increased by 400%.
One of the biggest obstacles to achieving the SDG on health is inadequate funding for health programmes and investments. For instance, a 2022 WHO survey of 47 African countries revealed that the region has a ratio of 1.55 health workers (doctors, nurses, and midwives) per 1000 people, which is lower than the WHO threshold density of 4.45 health workers per 1000 people needed to provide basic healthcare and achieve universal health coverage.
According to Atlas 2022, only 65% of births in the African region are attended by trained medical personnel, which is the lowest rate globally and far below the 90% target set for 2030. For the health of pregnant women and new mothers, skilled birth attendants are essential. Nearly half of all deaths in children under five are caused by birth defects. To lower the under-5 mortality rate to less than 25 deaths per 1000 live births, the agenda must be expedited in order to achieve its reduction target.
Additionally, the Atlas 2022 provides up-to-date information for more than 50 SDG health indicators and offers thorough country-level statistics for the area.
Dr. Humphrey Karamagi, Senior Technical Officer, Health Systems Development, WHO Regional Office for Africa, led a press conference for WHO today. Dr. Benjamin Tsofa, the Kenya Medical Research Institute’s principal researcher, joined him.
Dr. Fiona Braka, Team Lead, Emergency Operations, Dr. Fank Lule, Medical Officer, HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care, and Dr. Serge Bataliack, Strategic Health Information Officer, were all present from the WHO Regional Office for Africa to answer questions.