UN raises alarm over threat to maternal health gains amid aid cuts

The United Nations has issued a stark warning that progress in maternal healthcare could be reversed due to significant cuts in humanitarian aid, sparked by funding decisions under the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump and compounded by the ongoing trade tensions between the United States and China.

This warning comes despite the release of a new UN report celebrating a major milestone in global health: maternal deaths worldwide have dropped by 40 percent between 2000 and 2023, thanks to improved access to essential health services. Today, women are more likely than ever to survive pregnancy and childbirth.

However, UN agencies caution that these hard-won gains are now in jeopardy, particularly in countries facing crises, including some in Asia such as the Philippines. 

The ongoing reduction in global health funding is already taking a toll: clinics are shutting down, medical personnel are leaving, and the supply chains for lifesaving treatments—especially those for hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, and malaria—are being seriously disrupted.

In 2023 alone, an estimated 260,000 women died due to complications from pregnancy or childbirth, which equates to roughly one death every two minutes. The report also highlights that the pace of improvement has notably slowed since 2016.

World Health Organization director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized both the promise and the peril illustrated in the report. 

“The UN report offers hope, but it also underlines the ongoing danger of pregnancy for many women around the world,” he said. “We know how to prevent most maternal deaths. Ensuring access to quality maternal care and supporting women’s health and rights are essential for saving lives.”

Ghebreyesus also pointed out that the report is the first comprehensive assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on maternal mortality. In 2021 alone, the number of maternal deaths spiked to 322,000—an increase of 40,000 from the previous year—due to coronavirus-related complications and disruptions in maternity care. 

The findings stress the critical need to maintain essential health services during global emergencies.

UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell echoed the urgency of action. “When a mother dies, her baby’s life is often at risk too; but both deaths are usually preventable,” she said. 

“With funding cuts limiting access to care, especially in fragile settings, we must urgently invest in the health workforce—particularly midwives, nurses, and community health workers—to give every mother and baby the best chance to survive and thrive.”

The report also lays bare the regional inequalities in maternal health. Sub-Saharan Africa, while making progress, still accounted for nearly 70 percent of global maternal deaths in 2023. 

Only three regions—sub-Saharan Africa, Australia and New Zealand, and Central and Southern Asia—have recorded significant reductions in maternal mortality since 2015. In contrast, five other regions have seen stagnation in improvements, including 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. TRACY CABRERA