Bogotá DC, November 12, 2022. On August 30, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection defined and began the implementation of the Acceleration Plan to reduce maternal mortality, with the support of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The objective is to define strategic sectoral and intersectoral actions for the reduction of these deaths, considered unacceptable and avoidable most of the time and to meet the Sustainable Development Goal established at 32 deaths per 100,000 live births.
The Plan involves 10 provinces and 6 districts as prioritized territories (3 provinces being incorporated in the last month, considering the increase in cases).
It has made consistent progress in the 6 lines of work that include, among others, highly cost-effective actions to influence maternal mortality: Guarantee contraceptive methods (with emphasis on contraceptive methods after childbirth, cesarean section or abortion); strengthen care networks around the surrogate mother and her family; allowing bringing the pregnant woman early for care; guarantee the health care defined in the comprehensive perinatal maternal care pathway; strengthen comprehensive networks for the provision of services to respond to obstetric emergencies and newborn complications; implement health information and communication strategies, and strengthen governance and monitoring of the plan.
The Ministry has established a space for weekly monitoring of the plan with the National Health Superintendence, the Health Offices of the prioritized territories and the country's EPSs.
These actions show a decrease in the maternal mortality ratio, which has gone from 47.5 with a cutoff at week 32, 2018 as one of the best years in history, to 41.4 deaths per 100,000 live births at week 42, 2022 (considering live births with weekly cut-off).
Likewise, the Ministry indicates that so far this year, there have been 211 cases of maternal deaths, which reveals a decrease of 20.4% in relation to the cases in 2018, as the best year in history in Colombia for this indicator.
The Ministry notes that maternal mortality has decreased, after the implementation of this plan in the provinces of Chocó, La Guajira, Atlántico, Magdalena, Nariño, Cauca, Bolívar, Norte de Santander, Antioquia, as well as Santa Marta, Buenaventura, Bogota and Cali. However, efforts must still be in place in Córdoba, Cesar and the District of Cartagena.
The office of the deputy minister of public health and provision of services and the National Superintendency of Health pointed out the need to move forward more steadfastly on the part of the actors. This is especially true for the EPSs that are in charge of guaranteeing health care, in a monitoring framework for pregnant women with an emphasis on mothers who present a higher risk, which allows timely and effective action to prevent these deaths.
