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. 2025 Oct 6;25(Suppl 1):1017.
doi: 10.1186/s12884-025-08182-y.

Lessons learned from applying a "Rapid Maternal Death Surveillance and Response" tool in conflict-affected Tigray, Ethiopia

Benjamin Black  1 , Noortje Rijnberg  2 , Kibrom Solomon  2 , Desta Kahsay  3 , Mehari Gebru  2 , Berhane Fseha Teklehaimanot  2 , Solomon Hintsa  4 , Caren Asilwa  2 , Maura Daly  2 , Crystal Van Leeuwen  2 , Ruth Kauffman  2 , Hanna Majanen  2 , Anne Marie Morales  2 , Alan De Lima Pereira  2 , Monique Pereboom  2 , Hale Teka  5
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Lessons learned from applying a "Rapid Maternal Death Surveillance and Response" tool in conflict-affected Tigray, Ethiopia

Benjamin Black et al. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. .

Abstract

Women in humanitarian settings face high maternal mortality, yet Maternal Death Surveillance and Response (MDSR) systems are lacking. Medical teams in Tigray, Ethiopia, designed and piloted a rapid MDSR tool. The tool identified actions to improve maternity care within the humanitarian response. Adapted MDSR tools may be beneficial in humanitarian crises however further research is required.

Keywords: Anaemia; Humanitarian; MISP; MPDSR; Maternal health; Maternal mortality; Quality improvement; Tigray.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethical approval granted by the Institutional Review Board of the Tigray Health Research Institute, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia (reference number: THRI/0387/16), and by The College of Health Sciences and Specialized Referral Hospital Ethical Review Committee, Aksum University, Ethiopia (IRB number 057/2023). This research fulfilled the exemption criteria set by the Médecins Sans Frontières Ethics Review Board for a posteriori analyses of routinely-collected clinical data and thus did not require MSF ERB review. It was conducted with permission from the Research Committee, Operational Centre Amsterdam. Consent for publication: All authors give consent for publication. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

References

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