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This week, we’re diving into Africa’s role as the world’s future and how that future is at risk because of one thing - maternal mortality.

Let’s get into it.

Africa is the future of the world - literally.

In a world that's shrinking, Africa is growing.

Global birth rates have halved in the last 70 years.

But Africa is moving in the opposite direction.

Every minute, 90 babies are born in Africa.

And by 2030, half of the world’s youth will be African.

This is great news for the world’s workforce, but not so much for African moms because…

Having a child in Africa is risky

In 2009, 24-year-old Matlou Mmowa went to a local hospital in Limpopo to deliver her baby.

But what should have been a joyful moment quickly turned dangerous.

She couldn’t deliver the placenta and started to bleed.

The hospital staff ordered blood at 4 pm, but it never came in time.

And when it arrived five hours later, Matlou was gone.

Sadly, this kind of tragedy is all too common in Africa.

70% of maternal deaths globally happen in Africa.

If you’re an African mom, you’re five times more likely to die giving birth than if you were in the US, Europe or some parts of Asia.

And here’s why:

1. Africa doesn’t have enough midwives

There are two nurses for every 1,000 people on the continent.

And only a fraction of these people are specially trained to deliver babies.

So, there’s simply not enough maternal care, and many moms turn to traditional midwives with little or no medical experience.

2. Clinics are hard to reach

In rural areas, a good clinic is often hours (or even days) away.

And more babies are being born in rural Africa than in the cities.

A 2015 study found a direct link between maternal deaths and how far a mother lives from a hospital.

When a mother lives more than 35km from a clinic, she is four times more likely to die at childbirth than if she stayed closer.

When there are so few clinics, having a child is like flipping a coin on your life.

3. Medicines and supplies are scarce

When you do reach a clinic, there’s no guarantee it’ll have medical equipment, incubators, or even blood to handle complications.

Problems like logistics, cost, and availability can make supplies hard to get.

And when complications happen, like in Matlou’s case, people die.

But what’s Africa doing to make childbirth less of a death sentence?

Two words: Public health

In Africa, maternal death is a public health problem.

This means the burden of fixing it lies with governments and healthcare NGOs - like WHO, UNICEF, and USAID.

And historically, they’ve made strong moves.

In 2013, USAID partnered with the Kenyan government to launch m-Mama, an Uber-like service for pregnant women in emergencies.

So far, they’ve transported 28,000 mothers and newborns - and saved 900 lives in the process.

In Tanzania, the government partnered with an NGO to launch a free phone call service for pregnant women - similar to 911.

And in Mali, an NGO called TDH launched the SIMESON programme to train women in rural areas to become midwives.

Over 200 midwives were trained as a result - with 148 health centres supported.

There are many small solutions like these across Africa.

And they’re slowly birthing a new reality.

But they’re hard to scale.

NGOs rely on donations that aren’t always steady, and their work often involves having boots on the ground.

They also tend to be tied to the donors’ mission and aren’t as flexible as businesses.

But luckily…

Startups are offering a hand

Where public health solutions may be hard to scale, startups are designed for growth.

Like HelpMum.

Africa may not have a lot of clinics, but it has a lot of smartphones - roughly 650 million of them.

And HelpMum is turning each one into a maternity clinic.

Through an AI chatbot, African moms can get medical advice, track their pregnancy, and get connected to a doctor for consultations.

And it all happens on WhatsApp.

Another one is M-TIBA, a mobile wallet that lets users access cheaper health services.

In Africa, most people don’t have health insurance, so treatments are paid for out-of-pocket.

And with the high poverty rates, medical costs are a strain on pregnant moms.

M-TIBA lets them access up to 15% discounts on treatments at partner hospitals while removing the need to pay with cash or even buy insurance.

Startups like these are increasing access to information and care while lowering the cost for African mothers.

But what if startups and NGOs shared notes?

NGOs alone are not enough.

And startups can’t increase the midwife-to-patient ratio.

But what if there was a better way to solve this — by teaming up?

Or better yet, what if they could learn from each other’s playbooks?

NGOs could use more fresh ideas and out-of-the-box solutions.

And startups can adopt the operational savvy of NGOs.

This will strengthen efforts on both sides and make them better at reducing maternal deaths.

And thankfully, we’re starting to see some of these partnerships shape up:

• Last year, Zuri Health did 3,500 health checks after partnering with M-PESA foundation to organize Health Camps

• LifeBank teamed up with MSD for Mothers in 2022 to deliver 30,000 units of life-saving blood to hospitals in Kenya and Nigeria through its app.

• And two weeks ago, Field raised $11 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help NGOs ease supply chain issues for maternal health medicines in Africa.

NGOs are a big part of Africa’s healthcare efforts and tech is often just a sidekick.

But there’s a real chance for them to join forces to fix things faster and better.

Because Africa is the future of the world, and its future depends on African mothers having less risky childbirths.

Do you know any other startups or NGOs tackling maternal health in Africa?

Hit reply and let us know.

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