Women today are more likely than ever to survive pregnancy and childbirth. The latest UN report, Trends in Maternal Mortality, launched today shows a 40 per cent global decline in maternal deaths between 2000 and 2023 – largely due to improved access to essential health services.
This was shared by João Pedro Azevedo, Chief Statistician, Deputy Director, Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring, UNICEF.
Azevedo added: ” Still, the report reveals that the pace of improvement has slowed significantly since 2016, and reductions in maternal mortality are still far too slow to meet the targets in the Sustainable Development Goals. An estimated 260,000 women died in 2023 as a result of complications from pregnancy or childbirth – roughly equivalent to one maternal death every two minutes.
“Current humanitarian funding cuts are severely affecting maternal health care globally, leading to the closure of health facilities, loss of health workers and disrupted supplies of essential medicines for conditions like haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, and malaria. Women in humanitarian settings, where maternal mortality rates are already alarmingly high, face particularly severe risks.
“Now more than ever, we need to recommit to protecting mothers, safeguarding their babies, and sustaining progress in maternal and newborn health.”
