Allied Health Professional · Neurology ·
712 Maternal Deaths a Day: Progress Has Slowed WHO and partners' Trends in Mate…
712 Maternal Deaths a Day: Progress Has Slowed
WHO and partners' Trends in Maternal Mortality 2000-2023 report offers both encouraging and sobering findings:
An estimated 260,000 maternal deaths occurred worldwide in 2023, roughly 712 every day.
Global maternal deaths fell by about 40% between 2000 and 2023, largely due to improved access to essential health services, a genuine public health achievement.
But the pace of improvement has slowed significantly since 2016, and the report flags that humanitarian funding cuts are already affecting essential maternal care in several regions.
The global SDG target is fewer than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030; most high-burden regions remain well above it.
Clinical relevance: most maternal deaths are preventable with timely recognition and management of complications such as postpartum haemorrhage, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and sepsis. Where progress has stalled, it is rarely due to a lack of clinical knowledge; it is delayed recognition, delayed referral and gaps in access to emergency obstetric care.
Source: WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group, UN DESA. Trends in Maternal Mortality 2000 to 2023.