In Nouakchott, the new National Blood Transfusion Centre marks a turning point in the fight against maternal mortality. As postpartum hemorrhage remains the leading cause of death among women, access to blood is a top health priority. With support from AFD, Mauritania is modernizing its health system to better protect women and their children.
In Nouakchott, the laying of the foundation stone for the new National Blood Transfusion Centre (CNTS) marked more than just the start of construction—it symbolized a concrete commitment to maternal health. Childbirth complications are common, and when they arise, the availability of blood often makes the difference. In 2023, Mauritania still recorded 381 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, far from the UN’s target of 70 by 2030. In the majority of these cases, postpartum hemorrhage was the cause. Yet, the blood that could save these women is all too often absent from hospital reserves.
A Longstanding National Priority
Faced with this reality, the country has made maternal health a national cause. Since the late 1990s, Mauritania has implemented ambitious policies to protect mothers, starting with the “Safe Motherhood” program in the wilaya of Nouakchott. One of its flagship measures was the obstetric package introduced in 2002 in the capital. By removing financial barriers to childbirth, this program enabled thousands of women to access care. With strong support from French cooperation, this initiative was expanded to several regions across the country, until the Ministry of Health made it a public health policy.
One of the driving forces behind this transformation, Fatimetou Moulaye, coordinator of the National Reproductive Health Program, which she joined in 1996, recalls: “There was real institutional awareness.” Today, the obstetric package is part of a broader reflection on universal health coverage, with an increasing share of costs now covered by the Mauritanian state, thereby reducing the financial burden on women.
A Long-Term AFD Partner
Supporting this momentum, the AFD group has been a key partner in transformation efforts. For over 20 years, it has supported the country’s efforts to improve maternal health. Between 2008 and 2017, AFD backed the expansion of the obstetric package, financing three projects that extended the initiative to nearly all regional capitals. It supported a comprehensive and pragmatic strategy: training medical staff, upgrading infrastructure, providing ultrasound equipment, and ensuring access to essential medicines. The results are tangible: the rate of assisted deliveries rose from 54% in 2000 to 66% in 2011, while attendance at health facilities doubled in areas covered by the package.
Logistics also remain a challenge in a country where nearly 30% of the population lives in the capital, and the territory is vast and sparsely populated. Nevertheless, AFD support enabled the Kiffa Regional Blood Transfusion Centre to be equipped. As Dr. Khadijetou Ba, current director of the CNTS, points out: “A woman giving birth in Néma or Atar needs blood just as much as one in Nouakchott.”
A Centre That Can Change Everything
“In 2017, when I took over the CNTS, I found a worn-out structure, incapable of meeting rising demand,” recalls Dr. Khadijetou Ba. Aware of the urgency, she then led the development of an ambitious national plan to reform and modernize the blood transfusion system, with WHO support. What was still needed was a partner to turn this vision into reality—and AFD was the first to step up.
Its support led to the training of specialized staff, the acquisition of modern equipment, and the definition of a strategic framework aligned with national health priorities. The new CNTS will triple the annual blood collection capacity, currently between 12,000 and 18,000 units, with the goal of achieving transfusion self-sufficiency. This target requires a donor rate of 1% to 2% of the population, or about 50,000 to 100,000 units per year, in line with WHO recommendations. The new centre will be a major contributor: the previous infrastructure had limited collection capacity. Now, processing and storage capacity is significantly increased, testing is automated, donor reception is improved, and staff are better trained, both at the CNTS and in regional hospitals.
One Step Closer to the Sustainable Development Goals
This project is part of Mauritania’s broader ambition to reduce maternal mortality by 2030, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 3.1. More than just an infrastructure, this new centre is a key lever to ensure that one day, every woman in Mauritania, wherever she lives, can give birth safely. That requires accessible facilities, trained staff, available medicines, functional laboratories—and above all, blood. Lots of blood.