By Binta Jaiteh
The Ministry of Health has acknowledged an error in maternal mortality statistics presented by the health minister at the National Assembly and announced steps to correct the records.
The ministry was reacting to a media report by local online media questioning the accuracy of figures on maternal mortality in The Gambia.
Speaking to journalists, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, Gibriel Jarju, said the ministry deemed it necessary to respond formally to address what it described as misleading interpretations and to clarify the data.
He admitted that an arithmetic error occurred in the calculation of the 2025 Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), explaining that while the absolute figures were accurate, the ratio itself had been incorrectly computed.
“The error arose from presenting the institutional MMR as the total MMR from a DHIS2 report. The ministry regrets any confusion caused and has taken immediate steps to correct the records with the National Assembly,” Jarju said.
He stressed that the ministry had been transparent during the Assembly session, noting that it acknowledged existing administrative data gaps while highlighting improvements in data collection and reporting.
According to him, both the MMR and the underlying figures were provided to enable verification, underscoring the ministry’s commitment to data transparency and integrity.
Despite the error, Jarju said available data still indicate progress. Using the 2019/2020 Demographic and Health Survey baseline of 289, the ministry estimates a reduction of about 44 percent in maternal mortality by 2025.
He attributed this improvement to increased institutional deliveries, strengthened community health information systems capturing births and deaths, and improved reporting rates at health facilities.
Jarju explained that administrative data were used in responding to the National Assembly due to the absence of recent survey data, noting that comprehensive surveys such as the Demographic and Health Survey are not conducted annually.
He also criticised aspects of the media report, stating that it selectively cited a 2020 UN inter-agency modelled estimate of 458 while overlooking a more recent estimate of 354 for 2023.
“Using a higher modelled figure without context is misleading and risks causing unwarranted public concern,” he said.
Jarju further clarified that differences between figures cited in the report reflected institutional versus total data derived from the same dataset, rather than any manipulation.
“The difference is one of categorisation, not of underlying facts. Presenting this as evidence of systemic data manipulation misrepresents what actually occurred,” he said.