[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-458135-105":59,"doc-detail-458135-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","improving-access-to-safe-blood-is-critical-to-reducing-maternal-mortality-in-sub-saharan-africa-comment","Improving access to safe blood is critical to reducing maternal mortality in subSaharan Africa - Comment","","Maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa remains unacceptably high, driven largely by inadequate access to safe blood, especially in rural settings. The text links poor blood availability to preventable maternal deaths, highlighting postpartum haemorrhage as a leading and most frequent cause. It defines safe blood practices and examines how governance, sustainable innovation, and WHO-aligned strategies can improve equity and progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 3.1.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/improving-access-to-safe-blood-is-critical-to-reducing-maternal-mortality-in-sub-saharan-africa-comment/458135/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/improving-access-to-safe-blood-is-critical-to-reducing-maternal-mortality-in-sub-saharan-africa-comment/458135.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Miles","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-07","2026-09-30",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":81},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why is access to safe blood emphasized for reducing maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Maternal mortality is strongly linked to the availability of safe blood. When severe bleeding occurs, blood transfusion is often the only life-saving option, yet equitable access remains limited.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What is meant by “safe blood” in the document?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Safe blood is collected from voluntary, non-remunerated donors and is properly tested, processed, stored, and transfused without causing harm, including preventing infectious disease transmission.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What barriers prevent universal access to safe blood across the region?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The text highlights underfunding, weak infrastructure, workforce limitations, and low blood donation rates. It also notes concentration of services in urban centres, leaving rural and remote communities with limited or no timely access.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},458135,1790751738,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":81,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":81,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":129,"read_time":39,"preview_page_count":4},13056703019404,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","| A Nature Portfolio journal | |\n| --- | --- |\n| [https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-01267-x](https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-01267-x) |  |\n| Improving access to safe blood is critical to reducing maternal mortality in subSaharan Africa\u003Cbr>Tunde Oyebamiji, Imodoye Abioro, Olamide Bello, Chiamaka Esther Amaefule &\u003Cbr>Oyewale Osundeyi  Check for updates |  |\n\nMaternal mortality remains unacceptably high in sub-Saharan Africa, driven in large part by inadequate access to safe blood, particularly in rural areas. Here, we examine how systems-level governance and sustainable innovation can close this gap and advance maternal health equity across the region.  \nIn 2023, an estimated 260,000 women worldwide died from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth1. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) accounted for over 70% of these deaths, reflecting a severe and persistent inequity in maternal health. The World Health Organization supports the Sustainable Development Goal 3.1, which aims to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to fewer than 70 per 100,000 live births by 20301. Currently, SSA remains off-track to meet these goals.  \nThe five leading causes of maternal mortality globally are postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), sepsis, pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, obstructed labour, and unsafe abortion1. Amongthese, PPHis the most common, and the most preventable. Each year, an estimated 14 million women suffer from PPH, leading to around 70,000 maternal deaths2. In SSA, PPH is estimated to account for more than30%ofall maternal deaths1,3, a burden slightly higher than the global average of 27%, underscoring the region’s disproportionate vulnerability1.  \nWhile medications and surgical interventions are important in managing PPH, blood transfusion is often the only life-saving option in cases of severe bleeding4. This is particularly true when blood loss exceeds 1000 mL or leads to hemodynamic instability5. Yet, equitable access to safe and timely blood remains a major challenge across SSA. Many countries in the region lack the regulatory frameworks, infrastructure, and sustainable financing needed to support universal access to safe blood6 which leaves thousands of women without a lifeline in moments of critical need.  \nIn this comment, we explore the importance of access to safe blood for maternal health and examine the persistent barriers that hinder equitable access in SSA. We also discuss how actors within global health governance and sustainable innovations can help close this gap, accelerating progress toward the Sustainable Development Goal 3.1.  \nClinical and Public Health Value of Safe Blood  \nSafe blood is defined as blood collected from voluntary, non-remunerated donors that is properly tested, processed, stored, and transfused to recipients without causing harm, including avoidance ofthe transmission ofinfectious diseases7. The transfusion ofsafe blood is critical in the management ofPPH,  \nas recognizedbyits inclusion in the World Health Organization’s Model List of Essential Medicines and in guidelines for comprehensive emergency obstetric care.  \nThereis awell-established inverse relationship between the availability of safe blood and maternal mortality8. Countries with the lowest availability of blood tend to have the highest rates of maternal death9, 10. One modelling study in a high-income setting estimated that the absence of blood transfusion could result in a 6.5-fold increase in the risk of maternal death10. Although few studies inSSA have specifically quantified this effect, over half of the literature on severe PPH in the region identifies the unavailability of blood as a contributing factor11. In Malawi, the establishment of a national blood transfusion service led to a 50% reduction in maternal deaths within two years, indicating the impact this improvement could have on maternal mortality12.  \nTreatment options for PPHare limited inSSA. While medications such as heat-stable carbetocin and tranexamic acid, the only two drugs a","cbCaimQSCkuprDNM","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimQSCkuprDNM","pdf",348238,"English","# Maternal mortality and safe blood access in sub-Saharan Africa\n## Clinical and public health value of safe blood\n## Barriers to universal blood access\n## WHO strategy and financing constraints","[{\"question\":\"Why is access to safe blood emphasized for reducing maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa?\",\"answer\":\"Maternal mortality is strongly linked to the availability of safe blood. When severe bleeding occurs, blood transfusion is often the only life-saving option, yet equitable access remains limited.\"},{\"question\":\"What is meant by “safe blood” in the document?\",\"answer\":\"Safe blood is collected from voluntary, non-remunerated donors and is properly tested, processed, stored, and transfused without causing harm, including preventing infectious disease transmission.\"},{\"question\":\"What barriers prevent universal access to safe blood across the region?\",\"answer\":\"The text highlights underfunding, weak infrastructure, workforce limitations, and low blood donation rates. It also notes concentration of services in urban centres, leaving rural and remote communities with limited or no timely access.\"}]","Improving access to safe blood is critical to reducing maternal mortality in subSaharan Africa - Comment | PDF"]