![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/tena-2-jpg-1.jpeg\"\/)
\n
The minister also emphasized the vital role of voluntary blood donors in preventing postpartum hemorrhage, a leading cause of maternal deaths. <\/p>\n
Addis Ababa, January 9, 2026 (ENA)\u2014 Ethiopia has made notable progress in lowering maternal and infant mortality through sustained policy efforts and long-term investments in the health sector, the Ministry of Health announced.<\/p>\n
Marking Healthy Motherhood Month this January, Minister of Health Dr. Mekdes Daba highlighted a significant increase in the number of women giving birth at health facilities, attributing this to improved access and growing public trust in the health system.<\/p>\n
This year marks the 39th global observance and the 20th in Ethiopia of Healthy Motherhood Month, themed \u201cInnovative and Sustainable Financing for Healthy Motherhood.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Ministry officially launched the 20th nationwide Safe Motherhood Month under the same theme, reaffirming Ethiopia\u2019s commitment to protecting mothers and newborns.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe expansion of maternal health services and strengthening of delivery care are producing encouraging results,\u201d Dr. Mekdes said. <\/p>\n
She pointed out that the introduction and scale-up of surgical services at health institutions have been crucial to better maternal outcomes, and prenatal care coverage has steadily increased nationwide alongside improved access to facilities.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
The minister also emphasized the vital role of voluntary blood donors in preventing postpartum hemorrhage, a leading cause of maternal deaths. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe rising number of voluntary blood donors has been instrumental in saving mothers\u2019 lives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
While acknowledging the progress, Dr. Mekdes stressed the importance of continuing efforts, underscoring that innovation and sustainable financing are key to sustaining and accelerating gains in maternal and newborn health. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe will keep working with stakeholders to expand digital health information systems, ensure the availability of medical resources, and scale up surgical services,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Healthy motherhood encompasses the wellbeing of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. <\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/tena-1-jpg-1.jpeg\"\/)
\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The month-long campaign reflects two decades of advancements in maternal and newborn care, calling for enhanced collaboration, financing, and locally driven solutions to secure the health of every mother and child.<\/p>\n
Dr. Mekdes noted, \u201cWe have achieved remarkable progress in expanding and improving maternal and newborn health services across Ethiopia.\u201d <\/p>\n
She credited sustained government investment for these results, adding, \u201cOur efforts to protect mothers and their babies are clearly yielding success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Currently, over 61 percent of pregnant women safely deliver at health facilities, a milestone attributed to dedicated frontline health workers and strong community engagement. <\/p>\n
Maternal care before, during, and after childbirth has improved nationally, supported by referral systems that swiftly transfer mothers from health posts to hospitals.<\/p>\n
Postpartum hemorrhage, once a leading cause of maternal death, has significantly declined due to continuous system improvements. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis year\u2019s theme reflects our firm commitment to reducing maternal and newborn deaths and ensuring access to health care for all,\u201d Dr. Mekdes emphasized.<\/p>\n
She also reported a sharp drop in maternal mortality over the past two decades, bringing Ethiopia closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. <\/p>\n
Highlighting the importance of emergency care, she noted its wide-reaching social and economic benefits.<\/p>\n
To maintain these gains, the ministry is deploying ambulances nationwide and expanding blood banks in multiple cities. <\/p>\n
The minister urged investors and partners to support domestic production of medical supplies. <\/p>\n
\u201cNow is the time for local manufacturers to replace imports with quality products made at home, building resilient health systems that save future generations,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She concluded by affirming that sustainable financing and homegrown solutions remain vital for the country\u2019s continued progress. <\/p>\n
Safe Motherhood Month stands as a symbol of hope, showing that innovation, partnership, and investment can secure healthier futures for generations to come, she added. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Addis Ababa, January 9, 2026 (ENA)\u2014 Ethiopia has made notable progress in lowering maternal and infant mortality through…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[65,305,960],"class_list":{"0":"post-13416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ethiopia","8":"tag-ethiopia","9":"tag-featured","10":"tag-social"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}