Trends in Maternal Mortality Estimates 2000 to 2023
Progress toward reducing preventable maternal deaths has slowed and could even reverse as funding cuts threaten essential health services, according to a UN report.
Women today are more likely than ever to survive pregnancy and childbirth, but that progress is under threat amid severe funding cuts, according to a UN report released on April 7, 2025.
The report, Trends in Maternal Mortality, shows a 40 percent global decline in maternal deaths between 2000 and 2023, mainly due to improved access to essential health services. An estimated 260,000 women died in 2023 as a result of complications from pregnancy or childbirth — approximately one maternal death every two minutes.
The report, containing estimates by UNICEF and four other UN agencies — WHO, UNFPA, World Bank Group and UNDESA/Population Division — comes as humanitarian funding cuts are having severe impacts on essential health care in many parts of the world, forcing countries to roll back vital services for maternal, newborn and child health.
These cuts have led to facility closures and loss of health workers, while also disrupting supply chains for lifesaving supplies and medicines such as treatments for hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia and malaria, all leading causes of maternal deaths.
Without urgent action, the agencies behind the report warn that pregnant women in multiple countries will face severe repercussions, particularly those in humanitarian settings where maternal deaths are already alarmingly high.
“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,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). “In addition to ensuring access to quality maternity care, it will be critical to strengthen the underlying health and reproductive rights of women and girls — factors that underpin their prospects of healthy outcomes during pregnancy and beyond."
Other takeaways from the report:
COVID-19 caused maternal deaths to spike in 2021
In the first global account of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on maternal survival, the report states that in 2021, an estimated 40,000 more women died due to pregnancy or childbirth. In some cases the deaths were due to complications caused by COVID-19, while others were attributable to widespread interruptions to maternity services.
The findings reinforce the fact that pregnant women need reliable access to routine services and checks as well as round-the-clock urgent care.
Related: UNICEF multi-country push to improve maternal nutrition
Progress is uneven and disparities remain across regions and countries
There are persistent inequalities between regions and countries, as well as uneven progress, according to the report. With maternal mortality declining by around 40 percent between 2000 and 2023, sub-Saharan Africa achieved significant gains — and was one of just three UN regions, alongside Australia and New Zealand, and Central and Southern Asia, to see significant drops after 2015.
However, confronting high rates of poverty and multiple conflicts, the sub-Saharan Africa region still counted for approximately 70 percent of the global burden of maternal deaths in 2023.
Maternal mortality stagnated in five regions after 2015
Progress against preventable maternal deaths slowed in Northern Africa and Western Asia, Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), Europe and North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean regions, the report found.
Pregnant women living in humanitarian emergencies are at highest risk
Nearly two-thirds of global maternal deaths now occur in countries affected by fragility or conflict, according to the Trends report. For women in these settings, the risks are staggering: a 15-year-old girl faces a 1 in 51 risk of dying from a maternal cause at some point over her lifetime compared to 1 in 593 in more stable countries.
The highest risks are in Chad and the Central African Republic (1 in 24), followed by Nigeria (1 in 25), Somalia (1 in 30), and Afghanistan (1 in 40).
Addressing underlying health conditions and social determinants of health is key
Quality care during pregnancy is essential for reducing a woman's risks due to underlying health conditions such as anemia, malaria and noncommunicable diseases. It is also critical to ensure girls stay in school and avoid early marriage and early pregnancy, and that women and girls have the knowledge and resources needed to protect their health, the report states.
“When a mother dies in pregnancy or childbirth, her baby’s life is also at risk," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said. "The world must urgently invest in midwives, nurses and community health workers to ensure every mother and baby has a chance to survive and thrive."