Trend Analysis of Maternal Mortality in Kenya: Post-Devolution Empirical Results

Abstract

Introduction: Kenya has taken significant steps to improve Reproductive Maternal Neonatal Child Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) services, with a vision to prevent preventable deaths of women and newborns. This study seeks to fill a crucial gap in understanding the dynamics of maternal mortality in Kenya, post-devolution
Materials and Methods: The study spans all the 47 counties of the Republic of Kenya, using county as the unit of analysis. MMR data was extracted from the District Health Information Software (DHIS), which was created to evaluate the level of progress in coverage of RMH service in Kenya. Changes in the MMR Indicator was modelled over time using Repeated measures one-way ANOVA in the 47 counties in Kenya.
Results: A descriptive study uncovered an average reduction in the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), which decreased from approximately 170 to 130 per 100,000 live births between 2012 and 2018. There was a steady decrease in MMR in Garisa, Mombasa, Busia, Elgeyo, Samburu and Uasin. Tables and figures were used to visualise findings.
Conclusions: Our findings revealed that although there has been continuous improvement of relative equity over the last quarter-century in all the 47 counties in Kenya, uneven coverage remains within each county. This lack of equity differs from one county to another. There was a significant difference within each year and among the years, and pairwise comparison revealed a significant difference in the Maternal Mortality Ratio between 2012 and all the years except 2016 and 2017.