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Vihiga County responds to rising maternal deaths after 12 cases in 3 months
19th February, 2026 03:18 PM
Vihiga County has put in place measures to curb maternal mortality cases as the country faces a maternal mortality crisis.
In a span of three months, Vihiga County health facilities have recorded 12 cases of maternal mortality, which pose a worry among families.
The worrying situation has prompted Vihiga County to identify major causes of maternal mortality cases in its health facilities, which they are fighting to address.
Vihiga County chief officer in charge of health Dr Mary Anyiendah, while speaking to K24 Digital on Thursday, February 19, 2026, said it is unacceptable for women to die while giving birth.
Anyiendah said Vihiga County has taken the responsibility of protecting the lives of women and children during childbirth.
“There is an alarming maternal mortality rate nationwide; something must be addressed to save mothers and children during birth,” she stated.
Further, Anyiendah stated the major cause of maternal mortality includes postpartum haemorrhage, saying most mothers succumbed to excessive bleeding during delivery.
She also revealed that most mothers die during delivery because of obstructed labour during delivery and eclampsia complications.
“We have identified postpartum haemorrhage, obstructed labour, and eclampsia as major causes of death among mothers during delivery. We must address these complications,” she stated.
Anyiendah also pointed to the failure of pregnant mothers to attend antenatal and postnatal clinics, saying in most of the mortality cases reported in Vihiga county, the victims had records of not attending antenatal and postnatal clinics.
“Most of the mortality victims in our health facilities had a record of not attending antenatal and postnatal clinics. Most of the complications could have been handled during the clinics,” she added.
Additionally, she stated with concern that most of the teenage or underage mothers do not attend antenatal clinics. They only present themselves in the hospital when things turn ugly.
“Our teenage mothers or underage pregnant women don’t attend antenatal clinics. They only appear in hospitals when complications arise during delivery. We had a case in the Lianaginga health facility where a teenage mother decided to hide in the toilet, fearing to be helped to deliver. The situation was bad,” Anyiendah said.
To add to that, she stated that to mitigate maternal mortality, the Department of Health has hired qualified midwives to assist pregnant mothers during delivery, and that Vihiga County has established a modern maternal health facility at Vihiga County Referral Hospital to attend to mothers.
“We have established a state-of-the-art maternal health facility at Vihiga Referral Hospital, where the mother can access skilled maternity services. We have functioning referral systems that allow a woman who wants to deliver to access services easily. Our mothers are helped to deliver by skilled professionals,” she said.
On his part, Vihiga County Director of Health Dr Benjamin Induswe says they have provided a standby ambulance to respond to emergency cases.
He stated that the ambulance is always accessible to pick up mothers, even from their homes, and urged mothers to register with the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) to help them settle their medical bills.
“We have all the health services that our mothers can access easily if they are registered with SHIF. SHIF will settle all their bills. Our mothers should always embrace the habit of attending both antenatal and postnatal clinics so that they can avoid unnecessary complications during birth,” he said.
