Indicators for availability, utilization, and quality of emergency obstetric care in Ethiopia, 2008

Objective

To report on the availability and quality of emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC) in Ethiopia.

Methods

All licensed hospitals and health centers were visited and standard questionnaires were administered. In addition, a nonrandom systematic sample was taken of recent cesarean deliveries, partographs, and maternal deaths—and these cases were systematically reviewed. Health facilities were geocoded using geographic positioning system devices.

Results

Too few facilities provided EmONC to meet the UN standards of 5 per 500 000 population, both nationally and in all but 2 regions. Only 7% of deliveries took place in institutions of any type, and only 3% in facilities that routinely provided all the signal functions. Only 6% of women with obstetric complications were treated in any health facility, half of whom were treated in fully functional EmONC facilities. Nationwide, 0.6% of expected deliveries were by cesarean. The mortality rate for women with serious obstetric complications (case fatality rate) was 2%. The cause of death was unknown in 10% of cases, and 21% were due to indirect causes (primarily malaria, anemia, and HIV-related).

Conclusion

None of the indicators met UN standards. Ethiopia faces many challenges—not least geography—with regard to improving EmONC. Nevertheless, the government places high priority on improvement and has taken (and will continue to take) action to achieve Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. This comprehensive survey serves both as a road map for planning strategies for improvement and as a baseline for measuring the impact of interventions.