View previous stories
	Every two minutes a woman dies in pregnancy and childbirth: Tackling a global maternal health crisis by UNFPA, UNCEF, WHO, agencies   Apr. 2025   Women today are more likely than ever to survive pregnancy and childbirth, according to a major new report released today, but United Nations (UN) agencies highlight the threat of major backsliding as unprecedented aid cuts take effect around the world.   Released on World Health Day, the UN report, Trends in maternal mortality, shows a 40 per cent global decline in maternal deaths between 2000 and 2023 – largely due to improved access to essential health services. Still, the report reveals that the pace of improvement has slowed significantly since 2016, and that an estimated 260,000 women died in 2023 as a result of complications from pregnancy or childbirth – roughly equivalent to one maternal death every two minutes.   The report 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 haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia and malaria – all leading causes of maternal deaths.   Without urgent action, the agencies 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.”   The report also provides the first global account of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on maternal survival. In 2021, an estimated 40,000 more women died due to pregnancy or childbirth – increasing to 322,000 from 282,000 the previous year. This upsurge was linked not only to direct complications caused by COVID-19 but also widespread interruptions to maternity services.   This highlights the importance of ensuring such care during pandemics and other emergencies, noting that pregnant women need reliable access to routine services and checks as well as round-the-clock urgent care.   “When a mother dies in pregnancy or childbirth, her baby’s life is also at risk. Too often, both are lost to causes we know how to prevent,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.   “Global funding cuts to health services are putting more pregnant women at risk, especially in the most fragile settings, by limiting their access to essential care during pregnancy and the support they need when giving birth. 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.”   The report highlights persistent inequalities between regions and countries, as well as uneven progress. With maternal mortality declining by around 40 per cent 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 per cent of the global burden of maternal deaths in 2023.   Indicating slowing progress, maternal mortality stagnated in five regions after 2015: 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.   “Access to quality maternal health services is a right, not a privilege, and we all share the urgent responsibility to build well-resourced health systems that safeguard the life of every pregnant woman and newborn,” said Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA’s Executive Director.   “By boosting supply chains, the midwifery workforce, and the disaggregated data needed to pinpoint those most at risk, we can and must end the tragedy of preventable maternal deaths and their enormous toll on families and societies.”   Pregnant women living in humanitarian emergencies face some of the highest risks globally, according to the report. Nearly two-thirds of global maternal deaths now occur in countries affected by fragility or conflict. 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).   Beyond ensuring critical services during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period, the report notes the importance of efforts to enhance women’s overall health by improving access to family planning services, as well as preventing underlying health conditions like anaemias, malaria and noncommunicable diseases that increase risks. It will also be critical to ensure girls stay in school and that women and girls have the knowledge and resources to protect their health.   Urgent investment is needed to prevent maternal deaths. The world is currently off-track to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal target for maternal survival. Globally, the maternal mortality ratio would need to fall by around 15 per cent each year to meet the 2030 target – significantly increasing from current annual rates of decline of around 1.5 per cent.   http://www.unfpa.org/news/every-two-minutes-woman-dies-pregnancy-and-childbirth-tackling-global-maternal-health-crisis http://www.unfpa.org/news/front-line-midwives-three-reasons-support-these-humanitarian-health-workers-amid-global http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/aid-cuts-threaten-fragile-progress-ending-maternal-deaths-un-agencies-warn http://www.who.int/news/item/16-10-2024-who-urges-expansion-of-lifesaving-midwifery-care-for-women-and-babies http://data.unicef.org/topic/child-survival/neonatal-mortality/ http://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day/2025 http://news.un.org/en/audio/2025/03/1161586 http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/04/1161936 http://www.unfpa.org/press/statement-unfpa-executive-director-united-states-government-funding-cuts http://www.passblue.com/2025/05/28/us-cuts-to-un-midwife-projects-will-mean-more-infant-deaths/
	No girl should be forced to carry the child of her rapist by UN Human Rights Committee   The UN Human Rights Committee has found that Guatemala violated the rights of a girl who became pregnant as a result of rape by forcing her to continue the pregnancy and into motherhood. According to the Committee, this amounted to a breach of her right to live with dignity and reproductive autonomy, and subjected her to treatment comparable to torture.   The Committee published today its decision against Guatemala in a case involving a 14-year-old girl who was raped on multiple occasions, denied access to legal abortion, and compelled to assume parental responsibilities under coercive circumstances.   “This is the fourth case the Committee has recently examined on terrible similar situations involving other States in the sub-region,” said Committee member Helene Tigroudja.   “No girl should be forced to carry the child of her rapist. Doing so robs her of her dignity, her future, and her most basic rights,” she said, adding that “This is not just a violation of reproductive autonomy — it is a profound act of cruelty.”   Fatima was 14 when she became pregnant after being raped by an ex-director of a public day-care centre that she attended as a child. The rapes occurred after she had left the institution. Her aggressor had maintained contact with the family after Fatima left the institution and earned their trust by providing financial support. When her mother learned about the abuses, she reported them and then was bribed and threatened by the perpetrator, his wife and their family.   Despite nine years of criminal proceedings, during which the perpetrator continuously pressured Fatima and her family to drop the case, he escaped justice. Guatemala did not properly investigate the rape, nor did it take effective action to prosecute the perpetrator. Since then, Fátima has been stigmatized as a girl who became sexually active at an early age.   As it was impossible to obtain justice and effective remedies in Guatemala, Fatima brought her case to the Committee, claiming her rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) were violated.   Guatemala is one of the Latin American countries with the highest rates of both forced motherhood and systematic impunity for sexual violence. Although the Guatemalan Criminal Code allows abortion in specific situations to avoid a threat to the life of the mother, access to legal abortion is almost impossible in practice.   Despite her very young age and the foreseeable risks of pregnancy and delivery, Fatima was forced to carry out her pregnancy. After a traumatic and almost fatal delivery, Fatima was forced to breastfeed the child despite her expressed wish not to see him or be involved in his care.   The sexual violence and forced pregnancy caused Fatima severe suffering, resulting in two suicide attempts as the only way to escape from her future forced motherhood. Nine years later, the child born out of rape is living with Fatima’s mother, but she is the one struggling to help cover his food, clothing and schooling expenses.   The Committee concluded that the State party had violated her right to life under Article 6 of the ICCPR, recalling that the right to life also refers to the right to enjoy life in dignity and requires States to adopt positive measures towards the full realization of everyone’s right to sexual and reproductive health.   “Silence and inaction by the State are not neutral; they are not only violation by omissions but also factors of revictimization. Forcing a child into motherhood through neglect is a grave human rights abuse,” Tigroudja said.   The Committee also found that Guatemala had violated Article 7 of the ICCPR, which prohibits torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment as the Covenant refers not only to physical pain but also to moral suffering.   “In addition to the trauma of the rapes, the pregnancy and forced motherhood, she suffered a high level of distress caused by a combination of acts and omissions attributable to the State party”, Tigroudja said.   The Committee also concluded that it is a case of intersectional discrimination. “This case reveals how gender, age, and poverty intersect to silence the most vulnerable,” said Tigroudja.   The Committee called on the State party to establish a system to record and monitor cases of sexual violence, pregnancy and forced motherhood among girls and adolescents and to work towards its eradication.   It also asked the State party to take measures to remedy the damage incurred by the forced pregnancy and forced motherhood on Fatima’s life plans, by enabling her to complete higher education and pursue extracurricular areas that will empower her to advance her life goals.   Guatemala is also requested to make a public acknowledgement of responsibility and to guarantee access to education and psychological care for her child born out of rape.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/06/rape-lost-childhood-guatemala-found-responsible-forcing-girl-survivor
	View more stories