Tanzania has called for stronger action to prevent maternal, newborn and child deaths across Africa, saying the continent must move beyond knowing what works and ensure lifesaving interventions reach women and children who need them.
The call was made on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, where Tanzania’s Vice President, Deogratias Ndejembi, represented President Samia Suluhu Hassan at a high-level Heads of State side event focused on maternal and child survival.
Speaking on behalf of President Samia, who is the African Union Champion for Maternal and Child Health, Ndejembi said the survival of women, newborns and children remains one of the clearest tests of Africa’s health systems and its ability to translate resources and knowledge into better health outcomes.
Africa continues to carry a disproportionate share of the global burden, accounting for about 70 percent of maternal deaths worldwide and nearly two-thirds of deaths among children under five.
For Ndejembi, the challenge is increasingly about implementation.
“The challenge is no longer simply knowing what works,” he said, stressing the need to finance and deliver proven interventions consistently, equitably and at scale.
He also urged countries to look at health sovereignty beyond the ability to manufacture, procure or finance medical products.
Instead, he said, the real measure should be whether a woman, newborn or child can actually access the right care when they need it.
The discussion brought renewed attention to gaps that continue to stand between health policies and the people those policies are intended to serve.
Dr Raji Tajudeen of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said many maternal and child deaths remain preventable, but weaknesses within health systems continue to undermine progress.
These include shortages of skilled health workers and essential medical products, weak information systems, inadequate financing, and gaps in leadership and coordination.
Tajudeen noted that many African countries already have policies, strategies and costed plans in place, but the data and information generated are not always translated into action.
The meeting also focused on the Three Zeros agenda championed by President Samia: zero unsafe deliveries and referrals without skilled care, zero preventable maternal and newborn deaths, and zero-dose children.
The agenda comes as African countries face pressure to accelerate progress towards the 2030 health targets.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pointed to Tanzania’s progress, noting that the country recorded an 81 percent reduction in maternal mortality over a six-year period.
The progress, however, comes with a reminder that improvements in maternal and child survival require sustained investment rather than short-term interventions.
The speakers called for stronger political leadership, better use of health data, improved health-system capacity and sustainable financing to accelerate progress.
For millions of African women and children, the issue is ultimately less about what is written in national strategies and more about what happens when they arrive at a health facility: whether there is a skilled health worker to attend to them, whether essential medicines and supplies are available, whether a referral can happen in time, and whether the health system has the resources and leadership to act when it matters most.
As African countries look towards 2030, the message from the high-level meeting was that preventing maternal, newborn and child deaths will require Africa to turn what it already knows into action and ensure that action reaches those most at risk.
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