Kenya is among 56 countries at risk of missing the Every Newborn Action Plan target of 12 or fewer stillbirths per 1,000 total births by 2030.
A stillbirth is defined as a baby born with no signs of life after a given threshold, usually related to the gestational age or weight of the baby.
The latest joint report by Unicef, the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the United Nations states that with the current trends, Kenya might achieve her targets in 2050.
According to the report, ‘A Neglected Tragedy: The global burden of stillbirths’, 30,030 stillbirths were recorded in Kenya in 2019, a slight drop from 31,077 recorded in 2010 but an increase from 29,465 recorded in 2000.
The stillbirth rate in Kenya in 2000 was 22.5 per cent, 20.6 per cent in 2010 and 19.7 per cent in 2019.
This represents a 12.1 per cent decline between 2000 and 2019 at an annual rate of reduction of 0.7 per cent.
Kenya will now be expected to accelerate the annual reduction rate by more than five times to avoid missing the ENAP targets by 2030.
The ENAP, which was endorsed by 194 WHO member states, calls for each country to achieve a rate of 12 stillbirths or fewer per 1,000 total births by 2030 and to reduce equity gaps, particularly in countries that have already met the stillbirth targets.
“Over the past two decades, progress in lowering the stillbirth rate has not kept pace with achievements in saving mothers’ lives or those of newborns in the first 28 days of life,” the report states.
“20 million babies are projected to be stillborn in the next decade if trends observed between 2000 and 2019 in reducing the stillbirth rate continue. Among the 20 million, 2.9 million stillbirths could be prevented by accelerating progress to meet the ENAP target in the 56 countries at risk to miss the goal.”
From the report, globally one stillbirth occurs every 16 seconds, nearly four every minute, more than 200 every hour, nearly 5,400 every day, about 164,000 every month and about two million every year.
The report estimates that three or four stillbirths occur in sub-Saharan Africa or southern Asia, with higher stillbirth rates reported in rural areas compared to urban areas in the low and middle income countries.
“Slow progress in preventing stillbirths means the losses have been enormous. In the past two decades, the world suffered a total of 48 million stillbirths. Over 40 per cent of all stillbirths occur during labour, a loss that could be avoided with improved monitoring and timely access to emergency obstetric care when required.”
The report lists absence or poor quality of care during pregnancy and birth and lack of investment in preventative interventions and the health workforce as some of the reasons for the stillbirths.
Other factors include intrapartum complications (including hypoxia), antepartum haemorrhage (including placental abruption), infections and maternal conditions such as hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and foetal growth restriction as common underlying factors.
In low- and middle-income settings, infections such as malaria, syphilis, HIV are one of the top five causes of stillbirths, with the percentage of stillbirths attributed to maternal infection ranging from eight to 50 per cent, it states.
“In sub-Saharan Africa, malaria is estimated to contribute to 20 per cent of stillbirths and syphilis is attributed to more than an estimated 11 per cent of stillbirths,” the report says.
Edited by Henry Makori
