Life in death: The global crisis of maternal mortality

In a small village in Chad, a young woman bled to death on the floor of a clinic that had no electricity, no blood, and no doctor. In Nigeria, a teenage girl collapsed after delivering her first child in a facility where no one could manage her eclampsia. In parts of Somalia, childbirth still happens under trees, miles from emergency help.

These are not isolated tragedies they are echoes of a larger, global failure.

A powerful new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners has revealed that in 2023 alone, an estimated 260,000 women died from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. That’s one mother lost every two minutes – a child’s cry for life answered with a mother’s final breath.

“Maternal mortality is not a mystery,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “We know why it happens, and we have the tools to prevent it. The question is whether we will act.”

40% Global Drop Since 2000 – But Too Slow to Save Enough
The report, Trends in Maternal Mortality: 2000 to 2023, brings both encouragement and alarm.

It confirms a global decline of 40% in maternal deaths since 2000, from 443,000 deaths to 260,000. The global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) also dropped from 328 to 197 per 100,000 live births.

Between 2016 and 2023, the rate of improvement slowed to just 1.6% annually. To meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of fewer than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 births by 2030, the world would now need to accelerate to a 14.8% annual reduction a rate the report calls “unprecedented.”

Sub-Saharan Africa: Where Giving Life Still Risks Death

While global headlines celebrate breakthroughs in maternal care, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicenter of the crisis. The region recorded a harrowing 454 deaths per 100,000 births the highest in the world.

A girl in Africa faces a 1 in 55 chance of dying in childbirth. That risk is 400 times higher than for her peer in Australia or New Zealand.

Nigeria alone accounted for 28.7% of all maternal deaths worldwide in 2023 over 75,000 women. India, DR Congo, and Pakistan followed, making up nearly half of the global total.

Preventable Causes, Preventable Loss

The main killers remain the same: haemorrhage, hypertensive disorders, infections, and unsafe abortions all preventable with timely care. But in many places, that care remains out of reach.

In 2023, over 60% of maternal deaths occurred in fragile or conflict-affected states, where systems are broken and health workers are overwhelmed.

The burden is disproportionately borne by the poor, rural, and marginalized women without power, transportation, or choices.

COVID-19 and Climate Shockwaves

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted maternal care in many countries. Services were closed, staff diverted, and patients turned away. Maternal deaths spiked in 2021 a chilling reminder of how quickly gains can be reversed.

The report also warns of climate shocks and humanitarian crises worsening outcomes, especially in drought-stricken or displaced communities.

Rwanda, once among the worst-hit, has reduced maternal deaths through a nationwide midwife training program and rural ambulance network. Sri Lanka and Bhutan have made similar strides by integrating maternal health into universal health care.

In 2023, for the first time in recorded history, no country had an MMR above 1,000 and over one-third of nations had “very low” maternal mortality (fewer than 20 deaths per 100,000).

In Kenya, the maternal mortality rate stands at around 342 per 100,000 births higher than the global average, but lower than many of its regional peers.

Still, in counties like Turkana, Garissa, and West Pokot, access to skilled birth attendants remains dangerously limited. A mother in Nairobi is far more likely to survive childbirth than one in a remote village.

The Social Health Authority (SHA) and Linda Mama program offer a lifeline but without adequate investment in infrastructure, referral systems, and skilled health workers, these gains remain fragile.

The Road to 2030: Will the World Keep Its Promise?

The world made a promise in 2015: to end preventable maternal deaths. But with less than six years remaining, the path ahead demands urgency, equity, and action.

“Every maternal death is a policy failure,” the report states. “It is a silent verdict on our values and a call to do better.”

The message is clear: women don’t need to die giving life. But they still are. And unless the world turns its knowledge into will, and its promises into action, the next report in 2030 may not read very differently.

Source: Trends in Maternal Mortality: 2000 to 2023, WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group, and UNDESA.