New Delhi, March 27 India was among the countries in South Asia and other sub-Saharan African nations with the highest number of maternal deaths in 2023, at 24,700 per 100,000 live births, according to a new global analysis published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Women's Health journal.
Estimates suggest that Pakistan saw 10,300 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the same year, while the African countries of Ethiopia and Nigeria had 11,900 and 32,900 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, respectively.
Researchers, led by those from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in the US and global collaborators, noted that maternal deaths have declined over the past three decades, but progress has slowed in recent years and remains uneven across countries.
The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 research provides the most up-to-date global assessment of maternal mortality trends across 204 countries and territories through 2023, they said.
The world saw a total of 2.4 lakh maternal deaths in 2023, which equates to a global maternal mortality ratio of 190.5 maternal deaths per 100,000 livebirths—a decline of more than one-third from 321 maternal deaths per 100,000 livebirths in 1990, the researchers estimated.
However, 104 of the 204 countries and territories have yet to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of a maternal mortality ratio of under 70 per 100,000 livebirths, the team said.
While leading causes of maternal deaths varied by location, maternal haemorrhage and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy were responsible for the largest share of deaths globally.
Improved access to antenatal care, safe delivery services, emergency obstetric care, and post-partum follow-up could substantially reduce mortality, especially in countries with the highest burdens, the researchers said.
Furthermore, the COVID-19 infection also led to increases in maternal mortality early in the pandemic.
Before widespread vaccination, during 2020-2021, COVID-19 caused temporary increases in maternal deaths in regions and locations with a high COVID-19 mortality, the team said.
They added that with less than five years remaining to meet the SDG target, a renewed global action and sustained investment will be needed to accelerate progress, strengthen health systems, and improve countries' ability to monitor and reduce maternal mortality.