South Africa is not cutting maternal mortality fast enough to reach its 2030 goal, with the rate falling only about 1.5% a year, a specialist has warned. Dr Olivia Barigye, a foetal and maternal medicine specialist, said the latest confidential enquiry into maternal deaths shows the decline stalling, and even reversing slightly. She was speaking at the recent Women’s Health…
Tag: Maternal Health
-
Preventable Maternal Deaths Are a Failure of Equity
South Africa has a sophisticated economy, advanced medical training and a constitution that guarantees reproductive health care. Yet its maternal mortality ratio is rising, and most of these are preventable maternal deaths. The country recorded 111.7 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023, up from 109.6 in 2022 and 98.8 in 2019, before Covid-19. Foetal maternal medicine specialist Dr…
-
Zimbabwe National Health Strategy Aims to Transform Healthcare
Zimbabwe has taken a significant step towards reshaping its health system, launching a high-level validation workshop for its National Health Strategy 2026-2030. Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora told stakeholders the strategy arrives at a “defining moment” for the country. He urged them to view it not as a policy document, but as an actionable roadmap. Importantly, it is aligned with Zimbabwe’s…
-
Conjoined Twins Separation Marks Historic Limpopo Breakthrough
A major surgical milestone has been recorded in Limpopo after conjoined identical twin boys were successfully separated at Mankweng Tertiary Hospital outside Polokwane. Professor Nyaweleni Tshifularo, the lead surgeon, confirmed the operation was a success. The twins were born on 28 January 2026. They were conjoined and shared a liver, intestines and blood vessels. The separation surgery took place on…
-
Medical Negligence Compensation Reform Impacts on Budgets
South Africa’s system for compensating victims of medical negligence is under severe pressure. Nowhere is that clearer than in the Eastern Cape. The province paid out more than R630m in medical negligence claims in the 2024/25 financial year. That is about 2% of its R30.1bn budget. The Eastern Cape governent didn’t plan for these payouts, and the result is predictable.…
-
Perinatal Mental Health: Risks and Solutions in Pregnancy
As National Pregnancy Week runs from 3-7 February, the South African Society of Psychiatrists (Sasop) is calling on healthcare providers and expectant mothers to treat perinatal mental health symptoms in pregnancy as urgent medical issues. The society says between 16% and 50% of women in South Africa experience depression or anxiety during pregnancy. It adds that up to one in…
-
Botswana Medicine Shortages Expose Deep Procurement Failures
Across Botswana, patients are growing used to a sentence that lands like a warning. “Ga gona molemo.” Your medication is out of stock. For mothers at clinics, elderly patients and people living with chronic illness, the phrase signals more than inconvenience. It means interrupted treatment, rising anxiety and, in some cases, worsening health. Health experts and former officials say the…
-
SA Teen Pregnancy Statistics Reveal 2,103 Births to Girls 10-14
New demographic data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has highlighted a critical area of concern for public health officials and social workers alike. According to the latest SA teen pregnancy statistics, South Africa recorded 2,103 births to girls aged 10-14 in 2024. This data, derived from birth registrations received from the Department of Home Affairs, underscores the persistent…
-
Gates Foundation Announces $2.5bn Women’s Health Investment
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced a landmark investment of $2.5 billion by 2030 to address critical gaps in women’s health. This field is one its founder, Bill Gates, says has been “neglected for too long.” The significant pledge represents a one-third increase in funding compared with the foundation’s spending on women’s and maternal health over the past…
-
RSV Infant Vaccine: Latest Developments in South Africa
A groundbreaking vaccine to protect infants from severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is now available in South Africa’s private healthcare sector. Still, a decision on its inclusion in the public programme remains pending. The country’s National Advisory Group on Immunisation (NAGI) has formally recommended the RSV infant vaccine for all pregnant women. They have left the final decision to the…