By Samwel Doe Ouma
Kenyan doctors and maternal health advocates are turning to virtual reality training, simulation technology and innovation hackathons to tackle postpartum hemorrhage, the leading cause of maternal deaths in the country.
According to Dr. Kireki Omanwa, president of the Kenya Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society (KOGS) and co-lead of the End Postpartum Haemorrhage Initiative (EPPH-i), Kenya continues to record alarmingly high maternal mortality rates, much of it linked to preventable bleeding after childbirth.
“According to our Kenyan government national data, we are not doing very well,” Kireki said. “We lose about approximately 15 mothers and 92 newborns daily. That translates to almost 4,000 women who die every year because of preventable causes.”
Postpartum hemorrhage excessive bleeding after delivery remains the single biggest contributor to maternal deaths in Kenya, he said.
Dr Kireki say several conditions increase the risk of severe bleeding during childbirth, including anemia, uterine fibroids, diabetes-related complications and multiple pregnancies such as twins or triplets.
In response, the PPH Foundation under End Postpartum Haemorrhage Initiative (EPPH-i) launched a nationwide campaign that combines public awareness, advanced medical training and technology-driven innovation to improve emergency maternal care.
Kireki says that one of the initiative’s flagship programs is the creation of a dedicated “PPH School,” aimed at retraining and upgrading the skills of healthcare workers managing maternal emergencies.
He says that the PPH School will target a broad range of providers, from community health workers and maternal health nurses to clinical officers, doctors and senior specialists.
“We have noticed there is still a gap,” Kireki said. “There have been institutions training healthcare workers in emergency obstetric and neonatal care, but we felt that may not be enough.”
The training program will heavily rely on virtual reality and extended reality technologies, tools more commonly associated with aviation and advanced surgical education.
Using simulation equipment recently introduced into the country, healthcare workers will be immersed in realistic childbirth emergencies, allowing them to practice life-saving procedures without putting patients at risk.
“This helps strengthen muscle memory and retention because most of the things we see and experience directly are easier to remember,” Kireki said.
The simulations recreate high-pressure delivery room scenarios, including severe bleeding, forcing trainees to make rapid clinical decisions in real time.
Organizers compare the approach to the way airline pilots train in flight simulators before operating real aircraft.
Beyond technology-based training, the foundation is also launching a nationwide maternal health hackathon that will bring together professionals from medicine, engineering, social sciences and religious organizations to develop innovative solutions for postpartum hemorrhage.
“We are medical doctors and we think through problems in a certain way,” Kireki said. “Engineers look at problems differently. Social scientists also approach problems differently. We want to bring everyone together and see what unique solutions can emerge.”
Selected participants will brainstorm and develop practical innovations during the upcoming PPH conference, where finalists will present their ideas before a panel of judges.
Winning teams will receive financial awards and may also receive support to refine their ideas into prototypes that could eventually be patented and scaled for wider use.
Dr Kireki say the initiative could become one of the first large-scale multidisciplinary maternal health innovation competitions in sub-Saharan Africa.
“We are trying to help mothers because they are dying from preventable causes, and they should not,” Kireki said.