Maternal mortality is not only evidence of the status of a country’s health care system but also a symbol of discrimination against women, disparities that exist within and between different countries and a violation of the human right to proper health care provision. Ethiopia’s current maternal mortality rate is 401 deaths per 100,000 live births which is considered “high alert” according to the World Health Organization, making it one of the countries accounting for more than 50% of global maternal deaths. Ethiopia’s maternal mortality had been reportedly reduced between 1990 and 2015 even though some sources argue that no significant change in maternal mortality had been seen over the past 30 years. While different strategies have been implemented to reduce maternal mortality in Ethiopia, the effectiveness of these interventions has not been studied.
For this Independent Project, a systematic review was conducted to identify and evaluate strategies implemented to reduce maternal mortality in Ethiopia. This review identified three strategies: the Health Extension Program, the use of maternity waiting homes, and deploying trained nurses to increase skilled birth attendance. The health extension worker program and use of maternity waiting homes were not shown to have had an impact on Ethiopia’s maternal mortality, but the deployment of trained nurses to rural areas did show a positive impact in increasing skilled birth attendance. However, the overall impact of increasing skilled birth attendance on maternal mortality is unclear. Interventions aimed at preventing and/or reducing maternal mortality should be supported by a working health care system. More intervention studies and strategies that take the local context and challenges into consideration are needed to reduce maternal mortality in Ethiopia.
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