Maternal health: countries called upon to ramp up efforts to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths/SCREENGRAB
Women today are more likely than ever to survive pregnancy and childbirth, according to a new report produced by the World Health Organization (WHO) and released today.
The United Nations (UN) agencies have highlighted the threat of a major slide in maternal health even as unprecedented aid cuts take effect around the world.
Released today on World Health Day, the UN report, Trends in Maternal Mortality, shows a 40 percent global decline in maternal deaths between 2000 and 2023, largely due to improved access to essential health services.
Still, the report reveals that the pace of improvement has slowed significantly since 2016 and that an estimated 260,000 women died in 2023 as a result of complications arising from pregnancy or childbirth, roughly equivalent to one maternal death every two minutes.
The report comes as humanitarian funding cuts are having severe impacts on essential health care in many parts of the world, forcing countries to roll back vital services for maternal, newborn, and child health.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), says that while the report shows glimmers of hope, the data also highlights how dangerous pregnancy still is in much of the world today despite the fact that solutions exist to prevent and treat the complications that cause the vast majority of maternal deaths.
“To ensure access to quality maternity care, it will be critical to strengthen the underlying health and reproductive rights of women and girls, factors that underpin their prospects of healthy outcomes during pregnancy and beyond,” he added.
The report has also provided the first global account of the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on maternal survival, which in 2021 saw an estimated 40,000 women die due to pregnancy or childbirth.
“When a mother dies in pregnancy or childbirth, her baby’s life is also at risk. Too often, both are lost to causes we know how to prevent,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
She noted that the global funding cuts to health services are putting more pregnant women at risk, especially in the most fragile settings, by limiting their access to essential care during pregnancy and the support they need when giving birth.
“The world must urgently invest in midwives, nurses, and community health workers to ensure every mother and baby has a chance to survive and thrive,” said Russell.
In Kenya, the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) stands at 355 deaths per 100,000 live births, and this translates to nearly 5,000 women and girls dying annually due to pregnancy and childbirth complications.
On persistent inequalities, the report says that Sub-Saharan Africa achieved significant gains and was one of just three UN regions, alongside Australia and New Zealand and Central and Southern Asia, to see significant drops after 2015.
However, confronting high rates of poverty and multiple conflicts, the sub-Saharan Africa region still accounted for approximately 70 percent of the global burden of maternal deaths in 2023.
Dr Natalia Kanem, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)’s Executive Director, said that by boosting supply chains, the midwifery workforce, and the disaggregated data needed to pinpoint those most at risk, we can and must end the tragedy of preventable maternal deaths and their enormous toll on families and societies.
“Access to quality maternal health services is a right, not a privilege, and we all share the urgent responsibility to build well-resourced health systems that safeguard the life of every pregnant woman and newborn,” added Dr. Kanem.
According to the report, pregnant women living in humanitarian emergencies face some of the highest risks globally, with nearly two-thirds of global maternal deaths now occurring in countries affected by fragility or conflict.
Beyond ensuring critical services during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period, the report notes the importance of efforts to enhance women’s overall health by improving access to family planning services, as well as preventing underlying health conditions like Anaemia, Malaria, and non-communicable diseases that increase risks.
Urgent investment is needed to prevent maternal deaths. The world is currently off-track to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal target for maternal survival.
Globally, the maternal mortality ratio would need to fall by around 15 percent each year to meet the 2030 target significantly increasing from current annual rates of decline of around 1.5 percent
The World Health Day 2025 campaign focuses on improving maternal and newborn health and survival with the theme “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures.”
The campaign urges governments and the health community to ramp up efforts to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths and to prioritize women’s longer-term health and well-being.
The report produced by WHO was on behalf of the United Nations Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group comprising WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, the World Bank Group, and the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
