The UN warns that cuts in health aid risk reversing progress in tackling the global maternal mortality crisis, despite earlier gains

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n a new report released on 7 April to mark World Health Day, the UN confirmed that maternal deaths have decreased by 40% globally between 2000 and 2023, largely due to improved access to essential health services.

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However, the pace of progress has slowed considerably since 2016, and an estimated 260,000 women still died in 2023 due to pregnancy-related complications — equating to one maternal death every two minutes.

“While this report shows glimmers of hope, the data also highlights how dangerous pregnancy still is in much of the world today,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus.

“Solutions exist, but we need stronger investment in quality maternity care and in securing women’s health and reproductive rights.”

The report is the first to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal health. In 2021 alone, there were an estimated 40,000 additional maternal deaths compared to the previous year, largely due to disrupted health services and direct complications from the virus.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell stressed that global funding cuts are already putting millions of pregnant women at risk, particularly in fragile regions.

“Too often, both mother and child are lost to preventable causes. We must urgently invest in midwives, nurses, and frontline health workers,” she urged.

The decline in maternal mortality has not been universal. Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Southern Asia, and Australia and New Zealand are among the few regions that achieved notable progress since 2015.

Yet, sub-Saharan Africa still accounts for about 70% of global maternal deaths due to entrenched poverty, weak health systems, and ongoing conflicts.

Five other regions, including Europe and North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, and parts of Asia, saw stagnation or minimal progress.

UNFPA Executive Director Dr Natalia Kanem described the situation as “a preventable tragedy” that continues to devastate families and communities.

She highlighted that nearly two-thirds of maternal deaths now occur in countries experiencing conflict or instability, where access to basic health services is severely limited.

In these areas, the lifetime risk of maternal death can be up to 25 times higher than in stable nations.

Chad, the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Somalia, and Afghanistan rank among the most dangerous places in the world for pregnant women.

This year’s World Health Day theme, “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures”, focuses on improving maternal and newborn health.

The campaign calls on governments to ramp up investments in maternal care, including training for midwives, access to reproductive services, and support for women’s long-term health.

The report stresses the need for better data, stronger supply chains, and health worker retention. It also advocates for broader social measures like keeping girls in school, preventing adolescent pregnancies, and ensuring access to family planning and preventative care for underlying conditions like anaemia and malaria.

“Access to quality maternal health services is a right, not a privilege,” said Dr Kanem. “We all share the responsibility to build resilient health systems that protect every mother and baby.”

The world remains off-track to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality to fewer than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030. To meet that target, the global rate of decline must increase tenfold—from the current 1.5% annually to at least 15%.

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Without urgent financial commitments and systemic reform, experts warn that the global maternal mortality crisis could spiral, undoing decades of life-saving progress.

Source: Read more at thecable.ng