“Eritrea Reduced Maternal Death by Over 75 Percent since 1990”, WHO

Commendable healthcare service continued to be delivered in Eritrea. A network of medical service infrastructure also continues to be put in place everywhere in the country. What has been achieved in Eritrea is not yet realized in different African and Asian countries despite they were independent nations almost five decades ahead. This makes Eritrea an exemplary country which a number of countries should take a lesson from. What Eritrea envisages for is not yet achieved. But, if it continues the way it starts, it would surpass not only the sub-Saharan Africa but also a number of wealthy nations in different continents.  Eritrea has been tackling any issue that could negatively affect child and maternal health. Prenatal and postnatal medical checkups have been among the major contributors to the decline of maternal death.

Early marriage and being pregnant at late age have also been among the factors which have been contributing to maternal death at global level; most occurrences are in Africa and Asia though. This was also cited as a major setback in WHO’s report.  It is to be noted that Eritrea has been fighting against maternal and child death through different mechanisms and thus early marriage is legally prohibited in the country. So, early marriage which is by far greater risk of complications is not a major case in Eritrea. So, there hardly exist any fistula records in recent years.

Proper care has also been delivered to mothers who give childbirth at old ages. Eritrea’s Ministry of Health has been working to eliminate any sort of complication that could arise due to old age childbirth through careful follow ups that have been done through prenatal and postnatal care. Severe bleeding, mainly during and after childbirth which are described as causes to an increase in maternity death in MOH’s report have been therefore prevented through integrated medical services anywhere in the country.

Healthcare specialist assisted childbirth has by far secured sustainability of child and maternal lives. A number of nurses and midwives have been trained in different medical schools of the country. The most notable healthcare schools are in Asmara, Mendefera, and Barentu though.

Through reduction in maternal death, Eritrea has already become among the countries who achieved WHO’s Millennium Development goals a head of the set deadline.

According to WHO’s report several African nations have increased the success figure through reducing their maternal mortality rates and most significantly in the past 23 years.

Thus, Eritrea has in its 23 years of independence become part of the global achievement registered in the decline of maternal death in the past 23 years.

WHO’s report further highlighted that Rwanda, Equatorial Guinea and Eritrea are among the countries that have reduced maternal deaths by over 75 percent since 1990, thus reaching the Millennium Development Goal target ahead of the 2015 deadline.

Most countries however are unlikely to meet that target by next year. Thus, WHO’s report shows that African countries share a 60% of the overall maternal death globally and also cited countries like Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Kenya to be among the African countries that are lagging behind.

What is really surprising in the report is that, a number of wealthy countries have seen an increase in maternal mortality rates, with the rate in the United States for instance jumping 136 percent to 28 deaths for 100,000 live births last year, while in Canada, the number of deaths also shot up 81 percent to 11 deaths for 100,000 live births in 2013.

It is in such global picture where wealthy nations have seen an increase in their material death rate at that Eritrea continues to register commendable achievement in healthcare service in general and in the reduction of maternal and child death in particular.