Safe Motherhood: A Review - Family Care International

National Programs, Policies,
and Budgetary Commitments for Safe Motherhood
• Audits of maternal deaths and serious cases
of maternal and neonatal illness and safe
motherhood assessments
• Twice-yearly monitoring meetings at
community health centers to:
- measure progress
- identify operational problems and
their causes
- recommend corrective action that can be
carried out with available local resources
Type of Health Care
Practitioner
Physician
Graduate/registered nurse
Registered midwife
Between 1998–2004, the antenatal care
rate rose from 48% to 69%, while the rate
of skilled attendance during childbirth
increased modestly, from 37% to 40%. A
study conducted in Mali in 1998 indicated
an unmet obstetric need of 52% (75% in
rural areas versus 3% in urban areas). A
subsequent analysis carried out in June 2005
demonstrated that the overall unmet obstetric
need remains high (44%), with levels varying
from one region to another.
In 1992, the physician/population ratio
was 1:23,154, which is far below the
recommended standard of one physician
per 10,000 population. For the same period,
the ratio of registered or graduate nurses
to population was 1:12,120, which was
also less than the recommended standard
of 1 per 5,000. In 2001, the ratios had
improved somewhat, particularly in the
physician category, approaching the level
recommended by WHO.
Ratio 1992 Ratio 2001 WHO Recommended
Ratio
23,154
12,120
24,524
Practical/technical nurse 9,020
13,478
10,022
21,329
9,276
10,000
5,000
5,000
1,000
Funding for Safe Motherhood
The health budget for the 2005 financial
year is CFAF 55.7 billion, which is
6.7% of the total national budget. While the
amount of the national budget allocated to
health is known, it is difficult to determine
how much of the health budget is allocated
for safe motherhood, given the catch-all
nature of the account.
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