Determinants of Maternal Mortality in Southern Africa: A Macro-Level Analysis

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the macro determinants of maternal mortality in Southern African Development Community (SADC) states. The study drew on the fact that maternal mortality remains a major public health issue in developing countries. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were adopted by UN member states in 2000, and one of them was to reduce maternal deaths by three-quarters by 2015. While the Millennium Development Goals increased efforts, the goal was not met in the countries with the highest death rates. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that every single day about 810 women die from pregnancy or childbirth-related complications around the world. This is despite several international initiatives being adopted to reduce maternal mortality. The study was quantitative, and it used secondary data to achieve its objective. A panel data estimation (Generalized Method of Moments) covering the period from 2005–2019 was used to examine how various factors affect maternal mortality. The analysis included the following variables: education, fertility, GDP per capita, institutional quality, health expenditure and HIV infection. The econometric analysis reveals a significant positive impact of fertility, GDP per capita and HIV on maternal mortality. This implies that when fertility, GDP per capita and HIV are increasing, maternal mortality also increases. The analysis also showed that education has a negative relationship with maternal mortality. This implies that when literacy levels (education) increase, maternal mortality decreases. Based on the results, this study emphasizes that, in order to improve maternal health and consequently reduce maternal mortality, access to family planning (to reduce fertility), access to early prenatal care and promoting women’s access to education should be a priority in government policies.