COVID-19 pandemic strains Zimbabwe's already weakened health system: UNFPA

HARARE, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 pandemic has further strained Zimbabwe's already weakened health system, particularly maternal health thereby negatively impacting on the achievement of universal health coverage, the United Nations Population Fund said Thursday.

The UN agency said in 2019, the country had an unacceptably high maternal mortality rate of 462 deaths per 100,000 live births, a number which is expected to have risen due to COVID-19.

The government has since missed its target to reduce maternal deaths to 326 per 100,000 live births by 2020.

"In particular, the urban centers of Harare and Bulawayo have seen a marked increase in maternal and perinatal deaths," UNFPA said.

It said during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the provision of maternal health care, including emergency obstetric and neonatal care services, was severely disrupted.

The UNFPA and the Japanese government on Thursday signed a 1.3 million U.S. dollar partnership grant Thursday in a project that will help save the lives of pregnant women in Zimbabwe.

The support includes the procurement of medical equipment and expendable supplies to manage obstetric emergencies and prevent and control infection, including personal protective equipment.

It also includes the procurement of ambulances for several hospitals in order to strengthen emergency care and the training of maternity care providers in emergency obstetric care and management of COVID-19 during pregnancy.

There are an estimated 15,000 and 45,000 deliveries annually in Bulawayo and Harare respectively. Of these, about 15 percent have obstetric complications and require access to emergency obstetric care services.