In a joint op-ed published on 3 July 2026, the European Union Delegation to Botswana and SADC, the UNFPA and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) called for sustainable domestic financing, policy reforms and stronger health systems to prevent postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), the leading cause of maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. The op-ed, co-authored by Sandra Aslund (EU Delegation), Jyoti Tewari (UNFPA) and Lamboly Kumboneki (SADC), argues that nearly 180,000 maternal deaths in Africa in 2023 were preventable and that the gap between global guidelines and clinical practice remains dangerously wide.
The op-ed highlights that while more women now access antenatal care and skilled birth attendants, coverage alone does not save lives if health facilities lack quality medicines, trained providers or evidence-based policies. It points to specific failures: oxytocin may lose potency due to broken refrigerators, and midwives may be prohibited by national policies from administering tranexamic acid (TXA) to stop bleeding. The authors call for connecting policy decisions, supply chains, clinical guidelines and health worker training so that proven, affordable interventions reach every delivery room.
The piece also stresses the need to empower midwives with the right training, authority, equipment and supplies, and to strengthen domestic financing for comprehensive sexual, reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health. It notes that partnerships between governments, UNFPA, SADC and the EU are already working to remove barriers, but goodwill must be matched with political will and accountability at regional, national and local levels.
The op-ed accompanies the launch of a policy brief titled “Accelerating Access to Essential Postpartum Haemorrhage Interventions”, which aims to close the policy-practice gap. The brief targets governments, regional bodies and health institutions in the SADC region, urging them to prioritise maternal health financing and regulatory reforms. The EU Delegation to Botswana and SADC, which published the op-ed, is expected to support follow-up technical assistance and dialogue with national health ministries.
The call for action impacts four main stakeholder groups. For national governments in the SADC region, the op-ed implies pressure to increase domestic health budgets and revise restrictive scopes of practice for midwives, which could improve maternal outcomes but also require fiscal reallocation. For frontline health workers, particularly midwives, the proposed policy changes would expand their authority to administer life-saving drugs, potentially reducing mortality but also requiring additional training and liability frameworks. For international donors and partners like the EU and UNFPA, the op-ed reinforces their role in funding supply chains and technical assistance, though it warns that external aid alone is insufficient without sustained domestic commitment. For patients and communities, especially pregnant women in rural areas, the reforms could directly reduce the risk of death from PPH, but the timeline for implementation remains uncertain and depends on political will.