Threatened advancements in reducing maternal and newborn mortality due to reduced aid, the World Health Organization warns
Heard some grim news today, folks! It seems the World Health Organization (WHO) is sounding the alarm over "unprecedented" cuts to aid for maternal healthcare, potentially reversing two decades worth of progress in reducing maternal deaths globally.
According to a recent report released by UN agencies, maternal deaths saw a 40% decrease globally between 2000 and 2023, making it more likely than ever for women to survive pregnancy and childbirth. However, a staggering 260,000 women still died from complications during pregnancy and childbirth in 2023.
Now, instead of expecting this number to continue declining, the WHO warns that these aid cuts have left pregnant women in numerous countries facing severe consequences. The sudden loss of funding has forced countries to roll back vital services for maternal, newborn, and child health, close clinics, and lay off health workers. Furthermore, it has disrupted supply chains for lifesaving supplies and medicines, such as treatments for hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, malaria—all leading causes of maternal deaths.
The heaviest aid cuts have occurred in the United States, frequently the largest single donor to overseas programs in reproductive health. In early 2021, the Trump administration made the controversial decision to freeze and subsequently cut almost all funding to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). CNN has yet to receive a comment from the State Department, now responsible for handling queries for USAID.
Not only the U.S., but several European countries have also slashed spending on overseas aid as they increase their defense budgets in response to mounting tensions with Russia. In February, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Switzerland all announced plans to trim their aid budgets.
Catherine Russell, executive director of the UN children's agency UNICEF, expressed concern about these global funding cuts, stating they put more pregnant women at risk, particularly in the most vulnerable settings, by limiting their access to essential care during pregnancy and the support they need during childbirth. She urged the world to invest in midwives, nurses, and community health workers to ensure every mother and baby gets a fair shot at survival and thriving.
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on maternal health care services was detailed in the report as well. Approximately 40,000 more women died in 2021 due to pregnancy or childbirth, an increase caused both by complications from Covid-19 itself as well as unreliable access to adequate health care during the pandemic.
Maternal deaths were unevenly distributed across the globe and by income group, with 70% of all maternal deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, and poorer countries accounting for 43.9% of all maternal deaths in 2023. To add insult to injury, living in politically unstable and conflict-stricken countries significantly impacted maternal mortality rates over the past two decades.
"While this report shows glimmers of hope, the data also underscores 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," WHO's Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated in the report.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that drastic cuts to aid for maternal healthcare could potentially reverse the impressive progress made in reducing maternal deaths globally over two decades, as highlighted in a recent report. In Kabul, the sudden loss of funding has forced the closure of clinics and the laying off of health workers, jeopardizing the health and lives of expectant mothers. The UN children's agency UNICEF has expressed concern, urging the world to invest in healthcare workers to ensure every mother and baby gets a fair shot at survival and thriving, especially in vulnerable settings.
