New data published in the report, Trends in maternal mortality 2000 to 2020, show severe setbacks in reducing maternal deaths in almost all regions. The report, co-authored by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and the United Nations Population Division, tracks maternal deaths nationally, regionally, and globally from 2000 to 2020, and presents some significant progress in reducing maternal deaths between 2000 and 2015. However, gains largely stalled, or in some cases even reversed after 2016.
Maternal deaths are largely concentrated in the poorest parts of the world and in countries affected by conflict. In 2020, about 70% of all maternal deaths were in sub-Saharan Africa, and in nine countries facing severe humanitarian crises, maternal mortality rates were more than double the world average.
