Ozge Tuncalp, Joshua P Vogel, Seni Kouanda, Tippawan Liabsuetrakul , 2025-05-19 14:21:00
- Özge Tunçalp, executive director1,
- Joshua P Vogel, professor2,
- Seni Kouanda, professor3,
- Tippawan Liabsuetrakul, professor4
- 1Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Belgium
- 2Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health Program, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia
- 3Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS) and Institut Africain de Santé Publique (IASP), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
- 4Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, Thailand
- Correspondence to: Özge Tunçalp otuncalp{at}itg.be
The World Health Organization’s latest estimates on trends and causes of maternal mortality are sobering.12 Despite decades of socioeconomic progress and accumulated knowledge on how to prevent maternal deaths, the global burden is stubbornly high—and in some areas, it is worsening. Maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa remains disproportionately high, with an average of 545 deaths per 100 000 live births—nearly 70% of the global total. Inequalities exist within countries—for example, in the United States, the maternal mortality ratio for black women was over three times that of white women in 2023 (50.3/100 000 live births v 14.5/100 000).3Current rates of reduction in maternal mortality are insufficient to achieve global targets by 2030.4
Behind the global figures lie persistent gaps in access, quality, and equity in maternal health care.5 In a WHO led study across Ghana, Guinea, Myanmar, and Nigeria, over one in three women reported experiencing mistreatment during facility based childbirth—including physical abuse, verbal abuse, stigma, and neglect.6 Economic uncertainty, displacement, conflict, and climate shocks are making it harder for systems to deliver …
