Stalled Progress in Reducing Maternal Mortality Globally: What Next?

Abstract

(Lancet. 2023;401(10382):1060–1062. PMID: 36924780) According to a report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in February 2023, the global maternal mortality rate (MMR) improved considerably from 2000 to 2015 (the Millennium Development Goal era). However, from 2016 to 2020, the first 5 years of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) era, MMR stagnated or worsened in most regions of the world. During this period, only 2 regions, Australia and New Zealand and Central and Southern Asia, saw reductions in MMR (34.6% and 15.7%, respectively). The highest MMR was in Sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for ~70% of all maternal deaths in 2020.