MDG aspect

According to the recently released UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Report 2010, only 46 percent of the deliveries in Sub-Saharan Africa were attended by skilled health personnel in 2008, a stark contrast to the average figures in the world's developing regions and the developed regions that stand at 63 percent and 99 percent respectively.

The MDGs, agreed to by world leaders in September 2000, include a specific target of reducing the number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth by three quarters by 2015.

"African countries could do it if they really wanted, because we know what we need, what it is missing and what can be done but that's when if maternal mortality is simply prioritized," Dr. Ngoga told ChinAfrica.

In Rwanda, even if 99 percent of women have community health insurance scheme, statistics show that more than 48 percent of the pregnant women choose to deliver at home.

However, addressing maternal mortality is not only an issue of increasing access to health care services.

Other strategies to be stressed in a move to curb maternal death include educating minimizing Gender Based Violence (GBV), and economically empowering women to control their income, so that they can have the ability to negotiate for safe sex.

Unsafe abortions

In the recently concluded AU summit in Kampala it was said that one in 16 women and girls die giving birth in Africa.

Unsafe abortion is cited as another driver of maternal death with 14 percent, and 60 percentof these women are under the age of 25.

Unsafe abortion is a reality in Africa because it's still a taboo in some countries, women and girls end up using other methods getting infections and losing their lives.

"It is a big debate but in my own opinion, abortion should be legalized because in the process many lose lives and those who are lucky lose uterus," Dr. Ngoga said.

Integration of information and communication technology into healthcare system is another tactic that would see local community health workers in touch with the rural families.

Agnes Binagwaho, Permanent Secretary in the Rwandan Ministry of Health, said African countries need to put up infrastructure and communication platforms, along with education systems that would see vulnerable groups enrolled in the whole health scheme.

"This calls for strong government commitment and visionary leadership," Binagwaho said.

(Reporting from Rwanda)