Run for Her: Stakeholders push to end PPH killing 10 mothers daily

At least 10 women die in Kenya every day because of Postpartum Haemorrhage (PPH) – excessive bleeding – an issue experts say should be addressed to save the lives of mothers and newborns.

Data from the Ministry of Health notes that at least 6,000 women die in the country annually because of PPH.

To eliminate the alarming deaths, the Ministry of Health, the Kenya Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Midwives Association of Kenya and the University of Nairobi conducted a run yesterday, dubbed “Run for Her”, to push for an end to PPH.

The Director General of Health, Dr Patrick Amoth, said ending PPH requires collaboration by all stakeholders and the community at large.

“Our current maternal mortality ratio is 355 per 100,000 live births. Our target for 2030 is to lower this to 70 per 100,000 live births. We are off track in that space, and by coming together, we have a voice that no mother should lose her life when giving birth,” said Dr Amoth.

Amoth said the ministry is strengthening its supply chain for essential commodities, including cabetocin, which counties can order from the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa).

“Mothers are not dying because we do not know what kills them, mothers are not dying because we do not have expertise, mothers are not dying because we do not have know-how. Mothers are dying because we have not come collectively, as a community and a society, to ensure no mother dies when they are giving life,” said the DG.

The run, which started last year, was held in Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret, Kakamega, Homa Bay and Makueni.

Neighbouring countries namely Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia have also geared towards ending PPH, the leading cause of maternal deaths globally.

Prof Moses Obimbo, a gynaecologist from the University of Nairobi and one of the organisers of the End PPH initiative, said there is need to create awareness among policymakers to ensure resources are allocated for maternal health.

He noted that the country lacks resources in the health system such as human infrastructure, most importantly blood products.

“We have a ratio of 1.5 doctors for every 1,000 patients, whereas the recommendation is 1 to 440,” said Obimbo, noting the need to employ trained professionals to help eliminate maternal deaths.

Additionally, Prof Obimbo drummed up support for blood drives, an issue Dr Amoth noted was a hitch, starving mothers in need of transfusion to save lives.

“We want to educate people to be ready to become blood donors to save lives. There is no replacement for blood; we need to embrace the donation culture to ensure we collect sufficient blood and blood products,” said the researcher.

On his part, Dr Kireki Omanwa, President of the Kenya Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society (KOGS), said quick measures should be put in place to improve maternal and child health.

Kireki, also a consultant gynaecologist and senior lecturer in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Nairobi, noted that the run is an avenue to create awareness.

“We are losing a lot of mothers unnecessarily. This is unacceptable,” said Kireki, equating the deaths to “a battlefield of women dying”.

Jhpiego is among key partners that have been supporting Kenya’s maternal and child health.

For example, the organisation has been supplying cabetocin in Makueni County, a drug that helps stop PPH.

As a result, the county’s maternal deaths have significantly reduced.

“In 2022, there were 12 deaths, zero in 2023, and zero in 2024, and only two in 2025.

We appreciate all partners, and we are ready to collaborate to ensure no mother dies while giving birth,” said Michael Muthamia, Project Director for MPLI PPH under Jhpiego.

Catherine Shiengi, Chairperson of the Midwives Association of Kenya, noted the need to prevent PPH to save mothers’ lives by putting in place all required interventions.

“The most important thing is to be able to identify mothers bound to have PPH during delivery so that we can detect the cases early enough and be able to manage them in terms of prevention,” said Shiengi.