A woman dies every two minutes due to pregnancy or childbirth: UN agencies

New data show major setbacks for maternal health in many parts of the world, highlighting stark disparities in healthcare access

23 February 2023
World Health Organization

Every two minutes, a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth, according to the latest estimates released in a report by United Nations agencies today. This report, Trends in maternal mortality, reveals alarming setbacks for women’s health over recent years, as maternal deaths either increased or stagnated in nearly all regions of the world.

“While pregnancy should be a time of immense hope and a positive experience for all women, it is tragically still a shockingly dangerous experience for millions around the world who lack access to high quality, respectful health care,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). “These new statistics reveal the urgent need to ensure every woman and girl has access to critical health services before, during and after childbirth, and that they can fully exercise their reproductive rights.”

Continued: https://www.who.int/news/item/23-02-2023-a-woman-dies-every-two-minutes-due-to-pregnancy-or-childbirth--un-agencies

Africa’s Progress Against Maternal and Infant Mortality Has ‘Flatlined’

Dec 1, 2022
Kerry Cullinan

In the past decade, Africa’s progress against maternal and infant mortality has flatlined, and it will need to reduce maternal deaths by a massive 86%, and more than halve the deaths of babies to reach global targets by 2030.

This is according to the Atlas of African Health Statistics 2022 released by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Africa region on Thursday.

Continued: https://healthpolicy-watch.news/africas-progress-against-maternal-and-infant-mortality-has-flatlined/

01.12.2022

Kenya Medical Research Institute

maternal mortality

Sustainable Development Goals

World Health Organization

Africa

Health

Human Rights

‘Nigeria’s maternal death rate falls below SDG target’

26th November 2022
By Lara Adejoro

The Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria has lamented the high rate of maternal death in the country, saying Nigeria is nowhere near achieving the Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.

The SOGON President, Dr Habi Sadauki, said this, on Saturday, in Abuja at a press conference supported by the Partnership for Advocacy in child and family health At Scale anchored by the Development Research and Projects Centre and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Continued: https://punchng.com/nigerias-maternal-death-rate-falls-below-sdg-target/

26.11.2022

Maternal Perinatal and Child Death Surveillance and Response Bill

Muhammadu Buhari

Partnership for Advocacy in child and family health

Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria

Sustainable Development Goals

Not enough: Editorial on India’s Maternal Mortality Rate

The findings published in PLOS Global Public Health journal suggest that about 70 per cent of the country’s districts had failed to meet the global target between 2017 and 2020

The Editorial Board
Published 29.07.22

Over the past few years, India has been making efforts to improve maternal health. A decline in maternal mortality has also been documented. But is this decline uniform? A recent study by the International Institute for Population Sciences, which analysed maternal deaths at the district level, has found serious imbalances. Maternal Mortality Rate — deaths on account of childbirth per one lakh live births — is a measure of women’s reproductive health. Under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, all countries are expected to lower their MMR to below 70 by 2030. At present, India’s MMR is 103. Dishearteningly, this figure is not representative of ground realities.

Continued: https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/not-enough-editorial-on-indias-maternal-mortality-rate/cid/1877079

29.07.2022

Editorial

Featured

International Institute for Population Sciences

maternal mortality

Sustainable Development Goals

Nigeria – Women Group Seeks Suspension on Safe Pregnancy Guidelines Lifted

July 23, 2022
By cloudnewsmag

The Women Rights and Civil Society Organisations have called on the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to immediately lift suspension on the guidelines on Safe Termination of Pregnancy for legal Indicators.

The Groups maintained that women have rights to their bodily integrity and to life, stressing that the ‘Safe Termination of Pregnancy for legal Indicators’ is meant to save women from preventable death.

Continued: https://www.cloudnewsmag.com/women-group-seeks-suspension-on-safe-pregnancy-guidelines-lifted/

23.07.2022

Babajide Sanwo-Olu

Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi

Lagos State Guidelines on Safe Termination of Pregnancy for Legal Indications

Maputo Protocol

maternal mortality

Offences Against the Person Act

Sustainable Development Goals

Restrictive abortion laws put Nigerian women in danger

PTI | Benin
22-05-2022

The word "abortion" is used to describe two types of pregnancies that end before 20 weeks, which is now regarded as the age of viability of a pregnancy.

Spontaneous abortion occurs without an intention by the woman to stop the pregnancy, it is pregnancy loss before 20 weeks of gestational age. Induced abortion is the deliberate termination of a pregnancy because it is unwanted.

Continued: https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/health/2046272-restrictive-abortion-laws-put-nigerian-women-in-danger

22.05.2022

National Guidelines on Safe Termination of Pregnancy for Legal Indications

Offences Against the Person Act 1861

spontaneous abortion

Sustainable Development Goals

University of Benin Teaching Hospital

Restrictive abortion laws put Nigerian women in danger

Published: May 19, 2022
Friday Okonofua

The word “abortion” is used to describe two types of pregnancies that end before 20 weeks, which is now regarded as the age of viability of a pregnancy.

Continued: https://theconversation.com/restrictive-abortion-laws-put-nigerian-women-in-danger-183153

19.05.2022

National Guidelines on Safe Termination of Pregnancy for Legal Indications

Sustainable Development Goals

World Health Organization

The Elephant in the Womb: Unintended Pregnancies

22 APRIL 2022
Population Matters

This year’s State of the World Population (SWOP) report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) focuses on the worrying issue of unintended pregnancies. Still approximately half of all pregnancies today are unplanned and the number of affected women is increasing. Tackling this crisis is key to achieving a better future and should be an utmost priority.

RUNNING TO SLIDE BACKWARDS?
Since 2019, the annual unintended pregnancy rate fell from 79 to 64 unintended pregnancies for every 1,000 women of child-bearing age (15 to 49 years) – in other words, roughly 6% of the world’s women experience an unintended pregnancy each year, down from 8% in 2019. However, the report points out that due to population growth, the absolute number of affected women has increased by as much as 13% during this time period. This inconvenient truth also applies to the number of girls and women affected by other injustices, such as child marriage and unmet contraceptive needs, alongside many other development indicators, as shown in Population Matters’ 2019 report on population and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Continued: https://populationmatters.org/news/2022/04/elephant-womb-unintended-pregnancies

22.04.2022

State of the World Population Report 2022

Sustainable Development Goals

UNFPA

unintended pregnancy

United Nations Population Fund

Preventing Needless Deaths Of Nigerian Women During Child Birth

By Chioma Umeha
On Apr 1, 2022

For decades, the question of why so many Nigerian women die during childbirth has remained unanswered. Nigeria has one of the highest maternal death rates in the world, according to available data.

The country’s mortality ratio of 512 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births far surpasses the global average of 254 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.

Continued: https://independent.ng/preventing-needless-deaths-of-nigerian-women-during-child-birth/

Nearly half of the pregnancies in Nepal are unintended, UN agency says

Half of the 1.2 million pregnancies in the country were unintended and nearly 359,000 ended in abortion in 2017.

Arjun Poudel
March 31, 2022

Nearly half of the pregnancies in Nepal are unintended and close to two-thirds of them ended in abortion, according to a recent report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The UNFPA’s “State of World Population 2022” report titled, “Seeing the Unseen”, says half of the 1.2 million pregnancies in 2017 in Nepal were unintended and nearly 359,000 were aborted.

Continued: https://kathmandupost.com/health/2022/03/31/nearly-half-of-the-pregnancies-in-nepal-are-unintended-un-agency-says