By Our Reporter
Tanzania’s push to reduce maternal and child deaths has gained backing from African leaders and global health organisations, as President Samia Suluhu Hassan seeks to put women’s leadership and domestic financing at the centre of the continent’s health agenda.
Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndeitwah said stronger investment in maternal and child health was essential to Africa’s development, arguing that spending on the sector should be treated as an investment in people and economies rather than an ordinary budget expense.
She was speaking at a high-level meeting on “Advocacy for a New Era: Women Leading Maternal and Child Health for All (SHE RISES)”, organised by President Samia on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
President Samia serves as the African Union Champion for maternal and child health.
President Nandi-Ndeitwah called on African countries to increase domestic financing for maternal and child health to reduce reliance on external assistance.
“Africa’s development cannot be separated from the health of its people,” she said.
Namibia pledged to continue working with Tanzania in advancing the African Union’s maternal and child health agenda.
Presenting Tanzania’s experience, Vice President Deogratius Ndejembi said the country had recorded significant improvements in maternal and child health indicators alongside increased government investment.
He said maternal deaths fell from 556 to 104 per 100,000 live births between 2015 and 2022, while deaths among children under five declined from 67 to 43 per 1,000 live births.
Government spending on health has also increased from about TZS780 billion in 2015 to TZS1.8 trillion in the 2026/27 financial year, Mr Ndejembi said.
He cited the M-Mama emergency transport system as another intervention supporting access to urgent care, saying it had facilitated more than 150,000 emergency referrals involving mothers and newborns by August 2026.
The figures, he said, showed that political commitment could translate into lives saved when backed by financing and implementation.
Beyond Tanzania, Mr Ndejembi said President Samia was using her AU role to promote the African Union Champion Roadmap for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health.
The roadmap includes a “three zeros” agenda targeting the elimination of home deliveries, preventable maternal and newborn deaths, and children missing essential vaccinations.
The SHE RISES initiative adds another dimension by calling for women to have a greater role in decisions on health policies, budgets and priorities rather than remaining primarily recipients of healthcare services.
UNFPA Executive Director Diene Keita praised President Samia’s leadership and Tanzania’s efforts to elevate maternal and child health on Africa’s political agenda.
She said commitments made at political level must be reflected in budgets and investment in reproductive health services, including stronger support for midwives.
WHO Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Janabi said political commitment needed to be matched by investment, accountability and implementation if maternal and child deaths were to continue falling.
He also pointed to a gap between women’s contribution to healthcare delivery and their representation in decision-making.
Women account for about 70 percent of Africa’s health workforce, Dr Janabi said, but make up only about 25 percent of those involved in decision-making.
He said SHE RISES was intended to increase women’s participation in policy-making, budgeting, priority-setting and leadership.
Tanzania’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Togolani Mavura, said the meeting should help turn commitments on maternal and child health into stronger action and more equitable services.
The meeting brought together African leaders, former heads of state, including former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, United Nations agencies, global health organisations and policymakers.
For Tanzania, the initiative places maternal and child health within a broader debate over who controls health priorities, how they are financed and whether women have enough influence over the decisions that directly affect them.
The message from New York is therefore not only about reducing deaths, but also about ensuring that investments in health translate into accessible services and that women have a stronger voice in shaping the systems on which mothers and children depend.