WHO · UNICEF · UN IGME 2024← All Countries

🇨🇫

Maternal & Child Mortality
in Central African Rep.

Central Africa · #4 of 30 worst globally

Child Deaths Since Jan 1, 2026

0

92.2 per 1,000 live births · Central African Rep.

Deaths at Birth Today

0

est. newborns today

Infant Mortality Rate

92.2

per 1,000 · 3.4× world avg

Maternal Mortality Rate

835

per 100,000 · 4.2× world avg

Central Africa

Birth Mortality Crisis

Mothers & Newborns
Dying in Central African Rep.
During Childbirth

835 maternal deaths per 100,000 — one of the three highest rates in the world. A woman in CAR faces a 1 in 17 lifetime risk of dying from pregnancy complications.

Newborn & Infant Mortality

92.2deaths per 1,000 live births

3.4× the world average

Maternal Mortality During Birth

835deaths per 100,000 live births

4.2× the world average

👶

Newborn & Child Deaths During Birth in Central African Rep.

CAR ranks last or near-last on the Human Development Index. Armed groups control large portions of the country. Malaria is hyperendemic and responsible for ~1 in 4 child deaths.

Progress made in the 2000s has been reversed by ongoing conflict since 2013.

Leading Causes of Child Death at Birth

Malaria28%

Neonatal causes24%

Respiratory infections18%

Diarrhoea14%

Other16%

* Neonatal deaths (first 28 days) represent the largest share of under-5 mortality.

What Happens in the Delivery Room

🏥

Births in a health facility~77%

estimated — lower in conflict/rural areas

👩‍⚕️

Skilled birth attendant present~32%

doctor, midwife or trained nurse

⚠️

Neonatal deaths (first 28 days)48%

of all under-5 deaths occur at birth

🩸

Most preventable with skilled care~75%

of child and maternal deaths

🤱

Maternal Mortality During Birth in Central African Rep.

Only 40% of births are attended by skilled personnel. Many facilities have been looted or destroyed by armed groups. MSF operates key facilities under constant security constraints.

Almost no improvement in 15 years due to perpetual conflict.

Causes of Death During Labour & Delivery

Haemorrhage34%

Infection / sepsis22%

Eclampsia17%

Obstructed labour13%

Unsafe abortion8%

Other6%

* Haemorrhage and eclampsia together cause over 50% of deaths — both are treatable with basic skilled care.

Why Mothers Die at Birth Here

🩺

Emergency obstetric care availableLimited

few facilities can manage haemorrhage

🩸

Blood transfusion accessCritical gap

haemorrhage kills within 2 hours

💊

Magnesium sulphate (eclampsia)Often absent

costs $1 — saves lives instantly

✅

If skilled care were universal~75% fewer deaths

WHO estimate for this mortality level

⚠️

Why Is This Still Happening?

Structural Barriers to Safe Birth in Central African Rep.

Ongoing multi-faction civil conflict since 2013

Only 1 doctor per 20,000 people

Widespread looting and destruction of health facilities

Extreme poverty (80%+ below $1.90/day)

Limited road infrastructure — large areas inaccessible in rainy season

🎯

SDG 3 Progress Assessment

CAR will not achieve SDG 3 targets this century without a fundamental change in security and governance.

💡

Prevention & Solutions

How Can We Prevent This in Central African Rep.?

📍 The Situation

The CAR has been in near-continuous conflict since 2012, with repeated displacement of both populations and healthcare workers. The country has one of the lowest physician densities on Earth — approximately 0.07 per 1,000 people. Hospital-based obstetric ultrasound is essentially non-existent outside of Bangui.

🔬 How Ultrasound Helps

For the CAR, the priority application of portable ultrasound is haemorrhage prevention. Identifying placenta previa and abnormal placentation during pregnancy allows providers — even without surgical capability — to plan transfers to facilities that do have it. A single trained nurse with a portable POCUS device can screen hundreds of women per month, identifying those at highest risk and coordinating referral before an emergency occurs.

🎓 The Training Gap

Online training through platforms like GUSI's ScanHub™ is particularly relevant for the CAR, where stable internet access in urban centres allows training even when in-person instruction cannot be safely delivered in conflict-affected zones.

What a trained provider can detect with a portable ultrasound device

🩸Placenta previa

🔄Malpresentation

👥Twin pregnancy

📉Fetal growth restriction

⚡Pre-eclampsia markers

🫁Childhood pneumonia

💉Internal bleeding

🧠Hydrocephalus

🧮

Interactive Model

POCUS Impact Calculator — Central African Rep.

Model based on: 600 scans/provider/year · 15% high-risk detection rate · 47% mortality reduction for detected cases (Swanson et al. 2014 · WHO POCUS in LMICs review)

Number of POCUS-trained providers deployed in Central African Rep.50

1 provider250500 providers

Scans per Year

30,000

pregnant women screened

High-Risk Detected

4,500

flagged for referral / intervention

Maternal Deaths Prevented

57

mothers saved per year

Newborn Deaths Prevented

74

babies saved per year

Total Lives Saved Per Year

131deaths prevented

2.6

lives per provider

$189

est. cost per life saved

$24,750

total training investment

* This calculator uses a conservative evidence-based model. Actual impact varies by deployment context, provider experience, and health system capacity. Training cost based on GUSI OB POCUS Essentials (~$495/provider). Mortality reduction from peer-reviewed POCUS implementation studies in low-resource settings.

�

Technology & Education

A Practical Plan to Bring POCUS to Central African Rep.

🗺️ Deployment Roadmap for Central African Rep.

Baseline assessment — map existing facilities, referral pathways, blood supply, and available midwives, nurses, and physicians who could be trained.
Provider training — enrol local champions in GUSI's OB POCUS Essentials + Pediatric POCUS courses. Certify a core group to train others.
Device procurement — select appropriate portable handheld devices based on power infrastructure, connectivity, and budget (see brands below).
Protocols & referral integration — define what to scan, what findings trigger referral, and how to document scans at the point of care.
Quality assurance — regular image review sessions, outcomes tracking, and refresher training to maintain competency.

📡 Recommended Portable Ultrasound Devices

🦋 Butterfly iQ+

Website →

Single-probe whole-body device covering OB, cardiac, lung, and FAST exams. App-based platform with built-in AI guidance. Designed for low-resource environments — charges via USB and works with any smartphone.

🔵 Philips Lumify

Website →

App-based probe that plugs into Android phones. Multiple transducer heads available for OB and point-of-care use. Widely used in GUSI-supported training programs globally.

🟢 GE Vscan Air

Website →

Wireless, pocket-sized dual-probe handheld. Streams live images to a smartphone app. Excellent battery life — purpose-built for rapid bedside OB and FAST-style assessments.

🔷 Clarius HD3

Website →

High-resolution wireless handheld. Multiple probe configurations available. Strong image quality in a compact form factor — suitable for OB, lung, and neonatal scanning.

Global Ultrasound Institute · GUSI

The training that closes the gap — built for providers in settings like Central African Rep.

GUSI trains physicians, nurses, midwives, and community health workers in Point-of-Care Ultrasound. Courses are designed from the ground up for providers in resource-limited settings — short, practical, competency-based, and available online or in person. Every course maps directly to the conditions killing mothers and babies during childbirth.