The topic of women’s health has received considerable attention, as evidenced by recent reports on the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). A new report from the United Nations (UN), titled “Trends in Maternal Mortality”, has brought to light sobering statistics on maternal deaths, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The findings reveal that significant progress needs to be made globally to safeguard women’s lives during pregnancy and childbirth.
The Data on Maternal Deaths
According to the UN’s analysis, an estimated 287,000 maternal deaths were recorded worldwide in 2020, a figure that represents a slight reduction from 309,000 in 2016. The Maternal Mortality Ratio, calculated as deaths per 100,000 live births, was particularly high in sub-Saharan Africa, standing at 545. This is drastically higher than the global average of 223.
The majority of these deaths, around 70%, took place in sub-Saharan Africa. For each two minutes that passed, a woman died due to pregnancy or childbirth complications. These alarming figures reveal that there have been significant setbacks in the progress towards improving women’s health globally over recent years.
Regional Differences in Maternal Mortality
Upon closer inspection of the data, it’s evident that some regions face particularly high MMRs. The top three sub-regions with dangerously high MMRs were Western Africa at 754, Middle Africa at 539, and Eastern Africa at 351. On a country level, similar trends were observed with South Sudan, Chad, and Nigeria recording MMRs greater than 1,000.
In fact, Nigeria alone accounted for over a quarter (28.5%) of all estimated global maternal deaths in 2020. Between 2000 and 2020, declines in the MMR have generally stagnated across sub-Saharan Africa, Northern Africa, Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), Western Asia, Eastern Asia, and South-Eastern Asia.
Leading Causes of Maternal Deaths
The UN report highlighted several key causes contributing to maternal deaths. These include severe bleeding, high blood pressure during pregnancy, pregnancy-related infections, complications from unsafe abortion, and underlying health conditions like HIV/AIDS and malaria that can be aggravated by pregnancy. Specifically, in 2020, 1,878 HIV-related indirect maternal deaths were recorded globally, of which 92.5% occurred in sub-Saharan Africa.
Healthcare Gaps
One crucial finding from the report is the gap in healthcare services available for pregnant women. Approximately a third of women do not receive even four of the recommended eight antenatal checks or essential postnatal care. Furthermore, nearly 270 million women around the world lack access to modern family planning methods.
India’s Maternal Mortality Scenario
India recorded the second highest number of maternal deaths in 2020 at 24,000, trailing only Nigeria. However, India has made significant strides in lowering its MMR, achieving a 73.5% reduction between 2000 and 2020. Despite these improvements, other developing nations such as Argentina, Bhutan, Brazil, Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines have managed to achieve better outcomes.
Recommendations Moving Forward
The UN report provided several recommendations to improve maternal health. Immediate action, investment in primary healthcare, stronger healthcare systems, community-centered primary healthcare, control over reproductive health, sustained national and international efforts, and meeting global targets were among the key suggestions.
Providing women with the ability to make decisions about their own reproductive health, especially in regards to family planning, was emphasized as a necessity for improved maternal health. Moreover, the report stated that the world must significantly accelerate progress to meet the SDG target for maternal deaths, which aims for a global MMR of less than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.
