New York — African countries must stop relying too heavily on external support to keep mothers and children alive and instead invest more of their own money in maternal and child health, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah made the call on Thursday afternoon in New York during a high-level Tanzanian event on women’s leadership and maternal and child health held on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly.
She said maternal and child health should be a national priority, not reliant on unpredictable international funding.
“As much as we are getting support from the international community, we should avoid a situation where we will become more vulnerable in taking care of ourselves. Hence, there is a need for us to mobilise capital within to complement whatever we can get from outside,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
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The Head of State said health is one of Namibia’s seven national priorities, with targets to boost maternal health investment and reduce maternal deaths.
She said Namibia’s 2025-2030 health and nutrition strategy provides a roadmap to improve care for women, newborns, children and adolescents.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibia views health spending as an investment in its people, productivity and future.
“Investing in health is therefore not merely expenditure. It’s an investment in the human capital, economic resilience, national productivity and future for our continent,” she said.
She urged African countries to invest more domestically in maternal health, infrastructure and rural health workers.
“Maternal and childcare is one of those areas where African countries cannot afford to rely on others, she said, arguing that international assistance should complement, rather than replace, domestic investment.”
Speakers at the event echoed the President’s call, stressing Africa’s continuing maternal and newborn deaths and the need for stronger political commitment and funding. The WHO Regional Director for Africa said pregnancy and childbirth complications kill about 174 000 women annually across the continent, though most deaths are preventable. He urged leaders to ensure women can promptly access skilled health workers and that providers have essential supplies.
UNFPA Executive Director Diane Carter said investing in skilled midwives and quality maternal and newborn care is vital to preventing deaths. Political will and domestic commitment can address financing, supply chain and midwifery-care gaps. Donors and governments recently committed US$715 million to expand maternal care.
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Tanzania highlighted its progress. Speaking for president Samia Suluhu Hassan, vice president Deogratius Ndejembi said maternal mortality fell from 556 per 100 000 live births in 2015 to 104 in 2022, alongside expanded health infrastructure and primary care.
The Tanzanian delegation said its digital emergency referral system has facilitated over 150 000 referrals since launching in 2020. The event urged stronger implementation of Africa’s maternal and child health commitments through investment, innovation, technology and accountability.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibia would work with Tanzania and the African Union’s maternal and child health champion to make childbirth safer across Africa.
“There can be no stronger foundation for nation building than a healthy mother and a healthy child.
There can be no sustainable African development without investing in the people who constitute Africa’s future,” she said. [email protected]