News of the death of a Zambian journalist Sithembile Zulu, who died after giving birth at a local hospital has led to a public outcry, with fellow journalists highlighting the issue of maternal deaths in the southern African country, a report says.
According to BBC live, health ministry spokesperson Dr Maximilian Bweupe said that Zulu “underwent a caesarean section due to foetal distress, a condition where the foetus does not receive sufficient oxygen during pregnancy or labour”.
Bweupe said that the state-owned Daily Mail journalist became breathless after taking a bath and her condition rapidly deteriorated.
The Zambian Daily Mail reported that Zulu died a day after giving birth to a baby girl.
The paper quoted her husband, Victor Zulu saying: “Mrs Zulu died at the Levy Mwanawasa Hospital where she had been recuperating after giving birth.”
Meanwhile, in a tweet on Tuesday, the Daily Mail said that the health ministry had ordered a thorough maternal case review into the death.
Some social media users also passed their condolences.
See the tweets below
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Africa accounted for nearly two thirds of global maternal deaths, but Zambia had a better ranking than most African countries.
Statistics showed that at least 224 mothers died for every 100 000 live births.