125. Providing Critical Maternal Health Services in Tanzania

Maternal mortality is a leading cause of death worldwide, causing nearly 300,000 deaths every year, but the majority of these deaths are entirely preventable.

In 2006, Tanzania ranked number 6 in the world in terms of maternal mortality, which led Bloomberg Philanthropies to partner with the Government of Tanzania to increase access to emergency obstetric and reproductive care in one state, the Kigoma Region.

The partnership lasted until 2019, when the government fully took over the program. New findings show that in the Kigoma Region from 2013 to 2018 the institutional maternal mortality rate dropped by 43%,  the stillbirth rate dropped by 52%, and deliveries in a healthcare facility increased by 74%.

On this episode of Follow the Data, Becky Bavinger of our Public Health team is joined by Dr. Leonard Subi, the former Regional Medical Officer in the Kigoma Region and now the Executive Director of the Kibong'oto Specialized Infectious Diseases Hospital, and Dr. Sunday Dominico, the Clinical Director of Thamini Uhai. They discuss the obstacles women in the region faced to access quality maternal care, and how we used proven measures – like upgrading health facilities and training non-physician clinicians – to help prevent these deaths.