The Kenya Prevention of Maternal Mortality (KPMM) team

The Kenya Prevention of Maternal Mortality (KPMM) Team is the Kenya chapter of the Regional Prevention of Maternal Mortality Network (RPMMN) based in Accra , Ghana , the headquarters. The KPMM’s conceptual framework recognizes that the determinants of maternal mortality are complex because they are influenced by many different categories of events or conditions - biology, economics, culture, demography, as well as the distribution, efficiency and effectiveness of health services. Women die from pregnancy-related causes because they do not have access to emergency care services obtainable at the health facility level. In some instances, they die due to lack of supplies in health care facilities, while in others; the providers lack the necessary skills. The framework makes it clear that for any intervention to reduce maternal deaths, it must reduce complications or the likelihood that a complication will result in death.
The KPMM team members are Obstetricians / Gynecologists, nurses / Midwives, Social Scientists, community physicians, ministry of Health works with various partners, collaborators and stakeholders to achieve a number of objectives in addressing maternal mortality in Kenya .

These objectives include:
§     Strengthening the capacity of Kenyan institutions to design, implement, and evaluate maternal health programs in a variety of settings
§     Identifying and bringing together a cadre of professionals experienced in the field of reproductive health to provide the necessary technical assistance in the reduction of maternal mortality
§    Developing programs and operations research models for use in maternal mortality prevention projects, and  
§      Informing decision makers about the serious implications of maternal mortality and to share information on effective strategies to reduce it.

Each of these objectives is important in promoting maternal health if effectively implemented in any setting.  However, the central framework from which KPMM model is fashioned is that most life-threatening obstetric complications cannot be predicted or prevented but they can be successfully treated. The implications of this model for program design are profound .The emphasis is on improving the accessibility, quality and utilization of Emergency Obstetric Care for women who develop pregnancy-related complications. Therefore, working to ensure reduction of maternal mortality is not only by addressing the inadequacy of medical care for obstetric complications but also by correspondingly addressing The Four Delays  - Delay in identifying complication, delay in deciding to seek care; delay in reaching a health facility providing Emergency Obstetric Care, and delay in receiving quality treatment and care at the facility.
The Kenya Prevention of Maternal Mortality (KPMM) team, the Kenya chapter of the Regional Prevention of Maternal Mortality Network (RPMMN) with headquarters in Accra , Ghana , has recently attained milestones in the improvement of health facilities in Siaya and Bondo Districts.  The KPMM activities in four sites; Siaya, Bondo, Ukwala and Madiany has led to a series of intervention programs in the area.