Aid cuts threaten fragile progress in ending maternal deaths
UN agencies warn
Despite remarkable progress in reducing maternal deaths, new figures released today, April 7, 2025, by United Nations (UN) agencies show that women are still at risk of losing their lives during pregnancy and childbirth. UN experts warn that this progress could be reversed due to unprecedented cuts in global aid, which are undermining essential health services.
The new report, ‘Trends in Maternal Mortality,’ launched in conjunction with World Health Day today, reveals that global maternal deaths have declined by 40% from 2000 to 2023. This progress is primarily attributed to increased access to essential health services.
However, despite this improvement, the report highlights that progress has slowed significantly since 2016, with an estimated 260,000 women dying in 2023 due to pregnancy or childbirth complications. This is equivalent to one maternal death every two minutes.
The report is a stark reminder that while maternal health outcomes have improved globally, significant challenges remain. Humanitarian aid cuts severely impact health services, especially in unstable regions. These cuts have led to the closure of healthcare facilities, the loss of healthcare workers, and disruptions in the supply chains for life-saving treatments such as those for haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, and malaria – all leading causes of maternal death.
The WHO produced the report 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. It utilises national data to estimate levels and trends of maternal mortality from 2000 to 2023. The data covers 195 countries and territories, superseding all previous estimates.
UN agencies are urging the international community to take immediate action to avoid further setbacks and ensure that progress is sustained, particularly in conflict and crisis settings where maternal deaths remain alarmingly high.
Global impact of aid cuts
“While this report shows significant progress, it also underscores the continuing dangers of pregnancy in many parts of the world,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The solutions to prevent and treat the complications responsible for most maternal deaths are known. We must ensure not only access to quality maternity care but also strengthen the underlying health and reproductive rights of women and girls, which are critical to ensuring healthy outcomes during pregnancy and beyond.”
The Trends in Maternal Mortality report also highlights the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on maternal health. The year 2021 saw a dramatic increase in maternal deaths, with 40,000 more women dying due to pregnancy-related complications compared to the previous year.
This surge in deaths was driven by direct complications from Covid-19 as well as widespread interruptions to essential maternity services. The pandemic exposed the fragility of maternal healthcare systems worldwide and emphasised the need for reliable, continuous care for pregnant women, even during emergencies.
Role of midwives and health workers
Catherine Russell, Executive Director of Unicef, emphasised the critical role of midwives and healthcare workers in saving lives. “When a mother dies in pregnancy or childbirth, her baby’s life is also at risk. Too often, both lives are lost to preventable causes,” she said. “Global funding cuts to health services are putting more pregnant women at risk, particularly in fragile settings, by limiting access to essential care. 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.”
The report’s findings also underscore deep regional disparities, with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for approximately 70% of global maternal deaths in 2023. While sub-Saharan Africa has seen notable progress, challenges such as poverty, conflict, and poor infrastructure continue to hinder maternal health outcomes in the region. Despite significant gains, sub-Saharan Africa remains one of the most perilous regions for pregnant women.
Inequalities persist across regions.
While the global maternal mortality rate has decreased by 40% since 2000, some regions have experienced stagnation in maternal health improvements. After 2015, maternal mortality declined significantly in sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Southern Asia, and Australia/New Zealand. However, regions including Northern Africa, Western Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as parts of Europe and North America, saw little to no progress in reducing maternal deaths during the same period.
Dr Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of UNFPA, stressed that maternal health services must be treated as a right, not a privilege. “We all share the urgent responsibility to build well-resourced health systems that safeguard the life of every pregnant woman and newborn. By bolstering supply chains, expanding the midwifery workforce, and improving disaggregated data, we can end preventable maternal deaths and their devastating impact on families and societies.”
Risk in humanitarian settings
Pregnant women living in conflict and fragile settings are at the highest risk of maternal death. The report reveals that two-thirds of all global maternal deaths occur in countries affected by conflict, fragility, and emergencies. In these settings, the risk for a 15-year-old girl to die due to maternal causes over her lifetime is as high as 1 in 51, compared to just 1 in 593 in more stable countries.
Some of the countries with the highest maternal death risks include Chad (1 in 24), the Central African Republic (1 in 24), Nigeria (1 in 25), Somalia (1 in 30), and Afghanistan (1 in 40). These statistics are a stark reminder of the need for urgent action to ensure that pregnant women in humanitarian settings have access to the care they need to survive childbirth.
Preventive measures and investment in health
In addition to improving maternal healthcare during pregnancy and childbirth, the report highlights the importance of broader health interventions. Improving access to family planning services, addressing underlying health conditions such as anaemia and malaria, and ensuring that girls stay in school are all critical components of a comprehensive approach to reducing maternal deaths. Ensuring that women and girls have the knowledge and resources to protect their health is essential to the long-term prevention of maternal deaths.
The UN agencies are calling for urgent investment in maternal health to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal target for maternal survival. According to the report, the world is currently off track to meet the SDG target of reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to fewer than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030. The current annual decline in maternal mortality is around 1.5%, far below the required 15% per year needed to meet the 2030 target.
Call to action
The UN agencies warn that without immediate and sustained action, the world will not meet the 2030 target for maternal health, and maternal deaths will continue to affect millions of women and families around the world. If left unaddressed, global funding cuts threaten to undo years of progress in improving maternal survival rates.
As World Health Day 2025 focuses on the theme ‘Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures,’ it serves as a reminder to governments, international agencies, and the global community of their collective responsibility to ensure that every woman, everywhere, has access to the healthcare services she needs to survive pregnancy and childbirth.
World Health Day
World Health Day is observed globally on April 7 each year, focusing on a specific health issue of global concern. The 2025 World Health Day campaign, with the theme ‘Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures,’ calls for action to improve maternal and newborn health and survival. The campaign urges governments to prioritise women’s health and work to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
Image: The 2025 World Health Day campaign emphasises the need for action to enhance maternal and newborn health and survival. Credit: Pavel Danilyuk
Last Updated on 4 days by Arnold Pinto
