Title : Estimating access to skilled maternal care across key African markets: Implications for digital health solutions
Abstract:
Introduction: Sub-Saharan and North Africa are undergoing significant demographic shifts, with consistently high birth rates and growing urbanization. In many of these regions, expectant mothers face the combined burden of limited access to formal healthcare services and rising exposure to environmental health risks such as air pollution and heat stress. Mobile and cloud-based health solutions, like Mama Air powered by DIAQNOSTIC analytics, are emerging as scalable tools to support maternal health in low-resource and climate-vulnerable settings.
To better understand the scale and impact of such interventions, we conducted an estimation of the number of pregnant women (based on projected births) and their access to midwife or skilled birth attendance services in eight African countries.
Countries Analyzed: Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Egypt, Ghana.
Conclusion: Across these 8 (eight) countries, an estimated 9.8 million births in 2026 will take place with access to skilled health professionals - out of a total of over 19 million expected births. This gap represents both a challenge and an opportunity for innovation. With millions of pregnant women lacking regular access to midwifery or skilled support, digital maternal health platforms like Mama Air can help bridge that gap through personalized guidance, environmental exposure tracking, and behavioral support.
