Kenya is set to introduce a new digital system that will require all health facilities to report maternal and newborn deaths within 24 hours, marking a major shift from the current monthly paper-based reporting as the country steps up efforts to reduce preventable deaths.
The Ministry of Health said the Maternal Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response system will improve the speed and accuracy of reporting, allowing faster action in a country where maternal deaths remain high, with more than 300 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Speaking on Thursday during the International Maternal and Child Health Conference in Nairobi, Janette Karimi, a Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health specialist at the Ministry, said the platform is meant to ensure no death goes unreported and that action is taken without delay.
“Every maternal or newborn death must be captured in the health information system, and all relevant stakeholders notified so that corrective measures are taken,” she said.
She noted that the data collected will guide better decision-making and help prevent similar cases in the future.
“Lessons drawn from death reviews will help prevent avoidable deaths,” Karimi said.
Under the new system, every maternal and newborn death recorded in a health facility must be reviewed within seven days. These audits will examine how each case was handled at different levels, including the facility, sub-county, county and national levels.
Health officials said an action tracking tool will also be introduced to ensure that facilities follow through on recommendations made after these reviews.
“We want to audit all maternal and newborn deaths and develop an action tracker to ensure each facility implements measures to prevent similar incidents,” Karimi said.
To support the transition, healthcare workers and records officers are being trained to improve the quality and accuracy of reporting. Special attention is being given to departments such as intensive care units, where some deaths may not be captured in routine records.
Community health workers will also be involved in documenting deaths that occur outside hospitals, helping to address long-standing gaps in reporting.
Despite progress in healthcare services, Kenya continues to face a high burden of maternal and newborn deaths. The maternal mortality ratio stands at 355 deaths per 100,000 live births, which translates to about 15 deaths every day, or roughly 5,000 annually.
The leading causes include postpartum haemorrhage at 37 percent, followed by eclampsia at 22 percent and sepsis at 12 percent.
Newborn deaths also remain a concern, with 21 deaths per 1,000 live births, amounting to about 30,000 deaths each year. Prematurity accounts for 34 percent of these cases, birth asphyxia for 32 percent, while other complications make up 25 percent.
Karimi said increased funding could play a key role in reducing these numbers, pointing to the country’s five-year Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health roadmap.
The plan requires about Sh460 billion in investment, with expected gains both in lives saved and economic growth.
“Returns on the Sh460 billion investment include saving thousands of lives and an estimated Sh565 billion boost to GDP,” she said.
She added that the benefits would go beyond health outcomes.
“The investment would deliver Sh12.50 for every shilling spent,” she said.
At the same time, Director-General for Health Patrick Amoth said Kenya has joined the Healthy Birth Initiative, a five-year programme aimed at reducing newborn deaths.
The initiative, valued at Sh11 billion, will begin in 12 counties, including Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, Kakamega, Trans Nzoia, Kiambu, Kericho, Kilifi, Garissa and West Pokot.
These counties account for more than half of the country’s newborn deaths, and the programme is designed to focus resources where they are most needed.
Health officials say the move to real-time reporting, combined with faster audits and targeted investment, is expected to strengthen accountability and improve survival rates for mothers and newborns across the country.
