WHO · UNICEF · UN IGME 2024← All Countries

🇹🇿

Maternal & Child Mortality
in Tanzania

East Africa · #24 of 30 worst globally

Child Deaths Since Jan 1, 2026

0

55.8 per 1,000 live births · Tanzania

Deaths at Birth Today

0

est. newborns today

Infant Mortality Rate

55.8

per 1,000 · 2.1× world avg

Maternal Mortality Rate

349

per 100,000 · 1.8× world avg

East Africa

Birth Mortality Crisis

Mothers & Newborns
Dying in Tanzania
During Childbirth

349 maternal deaths per 100,000 — Tanzania's stable governance and consistent health investment have driven meaningful improvements.

Newborn & Infant Mortality

55.8deaths per 1,000 live births

2.1× the world average

Maternal Mortality During Birth

349deaths per 100,000 live births

1.8× the world average

👶

Newborn & Child Deaths During Birth in Tanzania

Tanzania is politically stable and has made consistent health investments, including early adoption of bed net programmes. COVID-19 denialism under President Magufuli set back pandemic preparedness.

Consistent improvement since 2000 — child mortality has halved. Current president has restored international health partnerships.

Leading Causes of Child Death at Birth

Neonatal causes27%

Malaria25%

Pneumonia14%

Diarrhoea12%

HIV/AIDS5%

Other17%

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

What Happens in the Delivery Room

🏥

Births in a health facility~82%

estimated — lower in conflict/rural areas

👩‍⚕️

Skilled birth attendant present~51%

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 Tanzania

Tanzania's Big Results Now (BRN) health initiative significantly improved facility delivery rates. Zanzibar has better maternal outcomes than the mainland.

Steady improvement. Tanzania is one of the more credible SDG progress stories in the region.

Causes of Death During Labour & Delivery

Haemorrhage25%

Eclampsia21%

Sepsis17%

Malaria in pregnancy15%

Obstructed labour13%

Other9%

* 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 Tanzania

COVID denialism under Magufuli (2020–2021) disrupting health systems

Rapid population growth (65M, growing 3% annually)

High malaria burden in lake regions

High adolescent pregnancy rate (27%)

🎯

SDG 3 Progress Assessment

Tanzania is among the most likely countries in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve meaningful SDG 3 progress by 2030.

💡

Prevention & Solutions

How Can We Prevent This in Tanzania?

📍 The Situation

Tanzania is a large country with significant regional variation in health outcomes. Tanzania has been an active site for global health innovation, and several organizations have piloted POCUS deployment in rural Tanzanian facilities with documented success.

🔬 How Ultrasound Helps

Tanzania's experience with community-based POCUS is one of the strongest evidence bases on the continent. Studies conducted in rural Tanzanian facilities have shown that basic obstetric ultrasound performed by trained nurses reduces the rate of undetected malpresentation at delivery by over 60%. Tanzania has the infrastructure — nursing schools, health centres, a functioning Ministry of Health — to scale this nationally.

🎓 The Training Gap

Tanzania is missing a standardized national training pathway. GUSI's OB POCUS curriculum fills that gap directly — providing the structured, certified training that would allow Tanzania to transition from a patchwork of successful pilots to a national standard of care.

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 — Tanzania

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 Tanzania50

1 provider250500 providers

Scans per Year

30,000

pregnant women screened

High-Risk Detected

4,500

flagged for referral / intervention

Maternal Deaths Prevented

24

mothers saved per year

Newborn Deaths Prevented

45

babies saved per year

Total Lives Saved Per Year

69deaths prevented

1.4

lives per provider

$359

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 Tanzania

🗺️ Deployment Roadmap for Tanzania

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 Tanzania

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.