By Michael Gwarisa
A surge in hypertensive disorders during childbirth has led to an increase in maternal deaths across Zimbabwe’s health facilities over the past 60 days, HealthTimes has learned.
Data presented by the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), Honourable Sleiman Kwidini, during a Parliamentary Question and Answer session yesterday, revealed that Harare recorded the highest number of maternal deaths since the beginning of the year.
The maternal deaths from January 2025 to date stand at 54. The leading cause of death was hypertensive disorders and their complications, including renal failure,” said Hon. Kwidini.
Other contributing factors included postpartum hemorrhage following abortion, normal delivery, and caesarean section, as well as sepsis, underlying HIV, and diabetes mellitus, among others.
According to the data, Harare province recorded 19 maternal deaths, Bulawayo 4, Midlands Province 9, Mashonaland West 7, Masvingo 3, Mashonaland 2, Mashonaland Central 4, Manicaland 2, Matabeleland North 4, and Matabeleland South 0.
Hon. Kwidini acknowledged the numerous challenges affecting the provision of quality maternal care, particularly in rural health facilities, due to inadequate human resources and a shortage of skilled personnel.
“It is true that we are facing challenges in rural areas, especially with the availability of skilled personnel and the poor road networks, which prevent our people from accessing medical attention quickly—particularly pregnant women. However, as a ministry, we have initiated a massive retraining program for midwives, as many of our trained midwives have migrated in search of greener pastures. This retraining will help us cater to those in rural areas,” he said.
He further stated that the government was in the process of upgrading primary care nurses in rural areas to midwives so they could provide the same level of care as the trained midwives who had left the country.
