WHO has estimated approximately 358,000 maternal deaths occurred during pregnancy, childbirth or within 42 hours of birth (2008 data) with a considerable reduction (about 34%) since 1990. However these data are less positive if we look at Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for more than half of maternal deaths. Many studies have shown the importance of interventions in emergency obstetric care (EmOC) in order to reduce maternal mortality. The biggest component needed to improve EmOC is providing effective emergency transport services, a major component of lowering maternal mortality.
Effective hospital transport service is still rare in many areas of Sub-Saharan Africa; even in Uganda, where there is a free service provided by the police, it is often not accessible to mothers. Published in September 2014 in the African Journal of Reproductive Health the study sought to evaluate the effects of a program that CUAMM implemented in the district of Qyam, in the north of Uganda, making a free ambulance service available 24 hours a day and providing all health facilities with communication systems. Comparing cesarean delivery rates in the district during the program’s implementation with the rates recorded in the nearby Apac district, where the intervention was not implemented, the study showed a slight improvement in data on maternal mortality.
While recognizing the limitations of the study, restricted to a limited area of the country, the goal was to recognize the importance of adequate hospital transport service, supported by communication tools. These are the first steps and a necessary condition, though not enough by themselves, to address the problem of high maternal mortality rates.
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