Maternal and newborn health remains one of the most persistent public health challenges in Kenya, reflecting deep systemic gaps across the continuum of care, from the community to health facilities. Each year, nearly 5,000 women and girls lose their lives due to preventable complications related to pregnancy and childbirth (UNFPA, 2022). While Kenya made notable progress in reducing maternal deaths between 2008 and 2014, this momentum has stalled over the past decade. The maternal mortality ratio currently stands at 355 deaths per 100,000 live births (KDHS 2022), far above the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. 

Neonatal mortality has remained largely unchanged for nearly three decades, declining only marginally from 28 to 21 deaths per 1,000 live births (KDHS reports). This rate is almost double the SDG target of 12 per 1,000 live births, signalling persistent gaps in quality antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal care. 

These deaths are largely preventable. They are driven by delays in seeking care, limited access to skilled birth attendance, inadequate emergency obstetric and newborn care, weak referral systems, and persistent inequities affecting adolescents, women in rural and informal settlements, and marginalized communities. Health system constraints, such as shortages of skilled health workers, uneven quality of care, insufficient commodities, and limited community-level engagement, further exacerbate the risk for mothers and newborns. 

Without targeted, coordinated, and people-centred interventions that strengthen health systems while addressing social and structural barriers, Kenya risks falling further behind its national and global maternal and newborn health commitments. Addressing these challenges is critical not only to saving lives, but also to safeguarding the health, dignity, and future of women, newborns, families, and communities.