Maternal mortality in Somalia Omar Osman Ciid Lecturer

1. Determinants of Maternal
mortality in Somalia
By
Mr. Omar Osman Hasan
BSc, MPH
Former CEO of SAACID CENTER

2. Introduction
 Maternal mortality is the probability or
percentage of mothers dying as a
result of pregnancy related
complications or post-delivery
complications every year.

3. Introduction (continued)
 In this paper, effort was made to
investigate the influence of gross
domestic product per capital, total
fertility rate, and HIV/AIDS prevalence
rate on maternal mortality, the
relationship between maternal
education, maternal age at birth, and
antenatal care visit (termed as
determinants) of Somalia in the period
1990-2015.

4. Introduction (continued)
 Secondary data collected from the
publications of United Nations
Statistics Division (UNSD) and World
Health Organization (WHO) were
used. The trend was examined to
detect their movements and changes
with time.

5. Analysis of determinants
 Socio-Economic Factors
Socio-economic conditions play a more
significant role in causing maternal
deaths than any other medical cause.
It includes poverty, lack of education,
and lack of empowerment.

6. Analysis of Determinants
(Continued)
 Cultural Factors
Cultural factors also promote MM in many
areas. These factors include male
dominance, non-availability of males,
absence of husbands from home,
devaluing of females, family traditions of
not seeking health care facilities,
hesitancy to go to hospital without head
of the family or on their own are some
very important contributing factors

7. Analysis of Determinants
(Continued)
 Physical Factors:
Majority of the women living in rural areas,
do not have access to receive adequate
antenatal, intra-natal and postnatal care
because of the unavailability of the
adequate health facilities to provide the
care during pregnancy.
One of the important reasons behind this
factor is the physical delay in arrival to
an appropriately equipped medical
facility e.g. poor or no transportation and
long distance.

8. Analysis of Determinants
(Continued)
 . Human Factors: (a). Lack of Skilled
Birth Attendants (SBAs): WHO refers
SBAs as educated, trained, and
accredited health professionals such
as midwives, doctors or nurses who
have proficient knowledge and have
been trained in dealing with all sorts of
normal versus complicated
pregnancies, childbirth and immediate
postnatal period.

9. Analysis of Determinants
(Continued)
 Medical Factors
Major determinants of maternal mortality
under the category of direct causes
include hemorrhage, hypertensive
disorders, eclampsia, sepsis, obstructed
labour, ruptured uterus, and unsafe
abortions. Authors mentioned in their
study that hemorrhage (34.6%),
eclampsia (30.7%), sepsis (19.2%),
anesthetic complications (11.5%), and
hepatic encephalopathy (3.8%)

10. Conclusion
 GDP per capita experienced instability
and showed numerous fluctuations in
the period under study.
 Total fertility rate showed two equal
and opposite trends as it was
increasing in the first decade while it
was decreasing in the last decade but
in general it was increasing.

11. Conclusion (continued)
 HIV/AIDS prevalence rate also showed
general increase in the trend in the study
period of 23 years. On maternal mortality
ratio, the analysis showed an increasing
trend of the maternal deaths with number
of fluctuations.
 On the relationship between GDP per
capital, total fertility rate and HIV/AIDS
prevalence rate as independent
variables and maternal mortality ratio,
the study found out that there is
significant relationship between them.

12. Conclusion (continued)
 The likelihood of maternal mortality
decreases with maternal education,
implying that highly educated mothers
have low chance of experiencing
maternal mortality. Maternal mortality
decreases with maternal age at birth.

13. Recommendations
 The Central Government of Somalia
should take steps to elevate the
income of the population such that its
people among them vulnerable groups
such as pregnant women could able to
access health facilities in order to
reduce maternal mortality ratio

14. Recommendations
(continued)
II. There should be national policies
towards fertility rate to educate women
and to offer them employment
opportunities.
III.There is a need to minimize
HIV/AIDS prevalence rate which in
turn contributes the reduction of
maternal mortality ratio. Community
awareness campaign to be taken to
warn people the ways that HIV/AIDS
spreads

15. Recommendations
(continued)
IV.Girl/child education should be
encouraged by governments in other to
reduce maternal mortality by making free
education to girls
V. The government and the community
should discourage extreme age
pregnancies
VI. VI. There should be sensitization on
the importance of the antenatal visit by
making free health services and
welfare of the mothers so as to reduce
rate of maternal mortality.


16. For more information please visit
my blog
Omarosman2016.worpress.com
ত োমোকে অকেে ধেযবোদ
Thank you so much
gode sosai
Mahadsanidiin