WHO: 1 woman dies every 2 minutes during pregnancy or childbirth
Complications during pregnancy or childbirth led to the death of a woman approximately every two minutes in 2023, according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The report, published on Monday, estimates that 260,000 women worldwide died in this way in 2023 and warns of the dangers of cuts to humanitarian aid.
Maternal deaths have declined by 40 per cent since 2000, mainly due to better access to basic health services, the WHO notes. However, the report warns that the pace of improvement has been slowing since 2016.
Cuts in humanitarian funding have had significant impacts on health in many regions, forcing countries to reduce essential services for mothers, infants and children.
Lifesaving treatment
These cuts have led to facility closures and loss of health workers, while disrupting supply chains for lifesaving supplies and treatments for haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia and malaria, which are leading causes of maternal deaths.
According to WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in addition to ensuring access to maternal health care, strengthening the health and reproductive rights of women and girls is critical.
"Women have the right not only to survive pregnancy, but also to thrive in good health"
“While this 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,” he said.
One of the UN’s sustainable development goals is to reduce maternal mortality from 328 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to less than 70 by 2030.
Achieving this goal is an “unprecedented challenge”, according to the report: “Swift action is needed to guarantee maternal health and put an end to the tragedy of maternal mortality. Women have the right not only to survive pregnancy, but also to thrive in good health.”
A birth attendant with an infant and a mother at a community clinic in Bangladesh © PHOTO MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP
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