Zimbabwe uses digital innovation to prevent stillbirths

Harare-At a busy maternity ward at Zvishavane district hospital, in Midlands Province in central Zimbabwe, a midwife records the details of a birth into a digital system, just minutes after the event.

Until recently, this information would have been written on paper, taking weeks or even months to reach decision-makers. Today, it is instantly available to health teams across Zimbabwe.

For years, Zimbabwe's maternal and perinatal death reporting system relied on paper-based forms. Information on stillbirths often arrives late, limiting the ability of health authorities to identify causes, detect patterns and take timely action. Incomplete reports, missing data and weak feedback mechanisms further reduced the effectiveness of the system. As a result, opportunities to prevent avoidable stillbirths were frequently missed.

In 2025, Zimbabwe revitalized and rolled out the Electronic Maternal and Perinatal Death Notification System (eMPDNS), a digital platform transforming how the country tracks and responds to maternal and perinatal deaths, including stillbirths.

Co-designed with frontline health workers, the system allows midwives, nurses and health information officers to enter data directly at facility level. Once submitted, the information is immediately accessible at district, provincial and national levels.
This real-time visibility enables continuous monitoring, faster analysis and more responsive decision-making.

In 2025, reporting rates increased significantly from just 10% under the paper-based system to 40% through digital submission. During the same period, around 44% of perinatal deaths were stillbirths.

The data is also helping to uncover key contributing factors, including missed antenatal care visits, delays in referral and challenges in managing foetal distress. In addition, the system supports improved classification of stillbirths, enabling health teams to distinguish between deaths occurring during labour and those occurring earlier in pregnancy which provides critical information for targeted interventions.

The availability of real-time data is already driving action. In Makonde district, Mashonaland West Province, early analysis identified facilities with disproportionately high stillbirth rates. In response, health teams conducted targeted perinatal death audits, strengthened intrapartum monitoring and provided mentorship and support to health workers in the most affected facilities.

"With the eMPDNS, our teams can now see and understand what is happening in facilities almost immediately. This timely insight is strengthening how we respond, improving the quality of care and helping us reduce preventable stillbirths across the country," says Dr Dorcas Mutede, Director of Family Health at the Ministry of Health and Child Care in Zimbabwe.

World Health Organization (WHO) supported Zimbabwe in the initial design and development of the electronic system as part of efforts to strengthen maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response. Following a period of limited functionality, the system was revitalized with financial support from partners, including UNFPA through Health Resilience Funds and Cordaid through the Global Financing Facility. This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to strengthening data systems and improving the quality of care to prevent maternal and perinatal deaths.

"Timely, high-quality data is essential to prevent stillbirths. Zimbabwe's experience shows how digital innovation can transform data into action, helping health systems respond faster, improve quality of care and save lives," said Zvanaka Sithole, Technical Officer responsible for Family and Reproductive Health at WHO Zimbabwe.