WHO · UNICEF · UN IGME 2024← All Countries

🇲🇷

Maternal & Child Mortality
in Mauritania

West Africa · #17 of 30 worst globally

Child Deaths Since Jan 1, 2026

0

63.4 per 1,000 live births · Mauritania

Deaths at Birth Today

0

est. newborns today

Infant Mortality Rate

63.4

per 1,000 · 2.3× world avg

Maternal Mortality Rate

464

per 100,000 · 2.4× world avg

West Africa

Birth Mortality Crisis

Mothers & Newborns
Dying in Mauritania
During Childbirth

464 maternal deaths per 100,000 — driven by low skilled birth attendance (69%) and a shortage of blood transfusion capacity to manage haemorrhage.

Newborn & Infant Mortality

63.4deaths per 1,000 live births

2.3× the world average

Maternal Mortality During Birth

464deaths per 100,000 live births

2.4× the world average

👶

Newborn & Child Deaths During Birth in Mauritania

Climate change is expanding the desert and reducing arable land, pushing herder communities into food insecurity. Over 15% of children under five are acutely malnourished.

Moderate improvement but significant vulnerability to climate-driven reversals.

Leading Causes of Child Death at Birth

Neonatal causes27%

Diarrheal disease18%

Pneumonia16%

Malaria14%

Other25%

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

What Happens in the Delivery Room

🏥

Births in a health facility~81%

estimated — lower in conflict/rural areas

👩‍⚕️

Skilled birth attendant present~47%

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 Mauritania

Vast geography with extremely low population density. Nomadic communities in the Sahara have virtually no access to formal health services.

Gradual improvement, but the nomadic and remote population remains largely unreached.

Causes of Death During Labour & Delivery

Haemorrhage29%

Eclampsia22%

Sepsis17%

Obstructed labour15%

Anaemia10%

Other7%

* 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 Mauritania

80% of land is desert or semi-desert

Nomadic populations with no access to health facilities

Chronic food insecurity driven by Sahel drought cycles

Low health worker density outside Nouakchott

🎯

SDG 3 Progress Assessment

Climate adaptation is inseparable from health progress in Mauritania.

💡

Prevention & Solutions

How Can We Prevent This in Mauritania?

📍 The Situation

Mauritania's vast Saharan geography means that most of the country's 4 million people live in a narrow strip along the Senegal River, in scattered oasis settlements, or in peri-urban Nouakchott. Health infrastructure is concentrated in the capital; the rest of the country is essentially unserved.

🔬 How Ultrasound Helps

Mauritania's nomadic and semi-nomadic populations are not reliably reachable by fixed health facilities. Mobile health teams equipped with portable POCUS devices can conduct antenatal screening during community outreach, identifying high-risk pregnancies and coordinating referral to the nearest capable facility. Training for these mobile teams is the priority.

🎓 The Training Gap

Mobile health team members in Mauritania require training that is portable, rapid, and does not require hospital infrastructure. GUSI's online OB POCUS course, combined with supervised practice sessions during team deployments, directly meets this need.

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 — Mauritania

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 Mauritania50

1 provider250500 providers

Scans per Year

30,000

pregnant women screened

High-Risk Detected

4,500

flagged for referral / intervention

Maternal Deaths Prevented

31

mothers saved per year

Newborn Deaths Prevented

51

babies saved per year

Total Lives Saved Per Year

82deaths prevented

1.6

lives per provider

$302

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.

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Technology & Education

A Practical Plan to Bring POCUS to Mauritania

🗺️ Deployment Roadmap for Mauritania

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 Mauritania

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.