WHO in fresh bid to improve maternal, child health
Local partners welcome new resolution, commit to continued support
LINEO MABEKEBEKE and
TEBOHO KHATEBE MOLEFI
MASERU – Partners in Health (PIH) in Lesotho has welcomed the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) 77th World Health Assembly (WHA) resolution calling on countries to bolster maternal and child health by expanding universal healthcare and strengthening primary healthcare.
This following reports of stagnation, globally, in reducing maternal and child deaths. The Somalia-led resolution was passed at the 77th WHA held in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 27 to June 1 and commits countries to tackle the leading causes of maternal and child deaths, particularly in the hardest-hit nations.
The theme for this year’s Health Assembly is ‘All for Health, Health for All.’
Represented countries agreed to improve access to maternal, sexual, reproductive and comprehensive child health services through stronger primary healthcare and expand access to emergency services, including urgent obstetric care and units for small and sick new-borns. WHO’s new resolution further commits to tackling the leading causes of maternal and child deaths.
Outlining to Public Eye efforts on National Health Reform (NHR) with regard to maternal and child health and to ensure that women stay in dignified spaces, PIH said that they have mobilised resources to build maternal waiting homes in different rural hard-to-reach clinics.
Executive Director, Dr Melino Ndayizigiye, said one of the programmes they implement is focused on maternal mortality reduction, where they have established maternal waiting homes to ensure that pregnant women come and stay at clinics a few days before they give birth.
He said: “We provided social support including food, linen and clothes for the babies and we make sure that they are comfortable staying at the clinic while waiting for their babies to be born.” He further noted that the PIH model of delivery is to ensure quality of care; the clinics must have enough and qualified staff, space, system and social support.
“The political will has been expressed, now the focus must be on implementation by countries and the technical support WHO provides in the context of universal health coverage,” said Dr Flavia Bustreo, Governance and Ethical Committee Chair at global alliance for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Rights Partnership for Maternal, New-born and Child Health following adoption of the resolution. “We cannot accept preventable and treatable causes claiming women’s lives,” Bustreo told the assembly.
According to WHO reports, maternal mortality rates stagnated in 131 countries and increased in 17 others between 2016 and 2020, putting over 80 percent of nations on track to miss the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) target of reducing maternal deaths to under 70 per 100 000 live births by 2030. Gains in new-born and child survival have also slowed, WHO adds.
The international body believes that to meet the SDGs the world must accelerate progress on reducing maternal mortality by a staggering nine times and slash new-born and under-five mortality by a factor of four.
“Prioritizing women’s and children’s health is crucial. This requires increased leadership, commitment and investment in all levels of maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health. To accelerate progress future strategies to address inequality ensuring no one is left behind,” said Saima Wazed, a representative for WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, during the discussions.
This WHA resolution marks WHO’s first significant action on maternal mortality in nearly a decade, following the adoption of the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health in 2015. The resolution emphasizes the need for well-stocked facilities, trained health workers, safe water and sanitation, and comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare services.
Discussions before the vote focused on improving care quality, leveraging technology and strengthening primary healthcare during which countries such as the United Kingdom highlighted the need to address adolescent pregnancies, unsafe abortions and the growing impact of climate change.
Health and Nutrition Senior Advocacy Advisor from Save the Children, Margot Nauleau Margot Nauleau, told the same gathering that, “Political leadership is critical to accelerate progress on maternal, new-born and child health,” adding that, “Now we need to see this resolution translated into action at national and local levels with increased investments and effective interventions to improve health outcomes for women and children.”
“Maternal mortality is especially high in fragile, conflict-affected, and vulnerable settings,” said the Ethiopian representative whose country co-sponsored the resolution. She noted that Africa’s maternal mortality ratio remains the highest worldwide, accounting for roughly 66 percent of maternal deaths in 2020.
The global effort to reduce maternal mortality is marked by wide disparities, with some countries making significant progress while others struggle to keep pace. China, that recently surpassed by India as the world’s most populous nation, has already met the 2030 SDGs targets for maternal mortality.
India, despite reducing its maternal mortality ratio from 130 in 2025-16 to 97 per 100 000 live births, remains far from meeting SDG targets. Given India’s population size, its progress significantly impacts global figures.
The country maintained at the WHA that it is on track, but the quality of care remains poor, particularly for women from rural, impoverished, and marginalised communities.
African countries, which bear a disproportionate burden of maternal deaths, highlighted to the WHA the challenges of improving care amidst humanitarian crises.
Maternal mortality remains a key issue affecting women of reproductive age across the African continent, while the current maternal mortality ratio for Lesotho is 566/100 000 live births. This is categorised as very high and is above the regional average of 545/100 000 live births
In Lesotho less than a decade ago, most expectant mothers didn’t have the option to give birth at a health centre, instead, they delivered at home and often without the help of healthcare workers.
Today more facilities are better equipped, providing mothers with dignified space for labour and delivery, largely due to the country’s NHR, according to a recent research article published by Global Public Health to highlight the impact of the initiative on maternal and child health.
Launched in 2014, the NHR is a set of interventions designed to increase access to high-quality, affordable health services. It was developed and carried out by the Ministry of Health in partnership with PIH Lesotho. The reform was piloted at all health facilities across four rural districts of Berea, Leribe, Botha-Bothe and Mohale’s Hoek.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), on the other hand, continues to express concern on the high maternal mortality rate of 566 per 100 000 livebirths in the country.
During his recent courtesy call to the Minister of Health Selibe Mochoboroane UNFPA Representative, Innocent Modisaotsile, indicated that birth should be celebratory and should not be a death sentence, assuring the minister that UNFPA is working with other United Nations agencies in efforts to prevent the high rate of maternal deaths.
He reaffirmed the UNFPA’s commitment to support implementation of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) programmes including reduction of the unmet need for family planning and Early and Unintended Pregnancies by, among others, ensuring that young people have access to information and family planning supplies to protect themselves.
Humanitarian crises and increasingly frequent extreme weather events tied to climate change are pushing fragile health systems to the brink, and taking a heavy toll on maternal and child health globally as a result, according to the WHO. But despite the challenges, African nations at the 77th WHA reaffirmed their commitment to improving maternal health.
