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Maternal health, which refers to the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period, according to WHO Africa, faces a troubling trend worldwide. Seven in 10 of maternal deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. An estimated 287,000 women globally lost their lives due to maternal causes, according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The majority of these deaths, a staggering 70% , occur in sub-Saharan Africa. The major causes of these preventable deaths include pre-existing medical conditions that worsen during pregnancy, high blood pressure, unsafe abortions, excessive bleeding, obstructed labor, and infections. A troubling trend in maternal health worldwide, according to WHO , is the death of a woman in childbirth or pregnancy roughly every two minutes .



The UN agency warns that without significant progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) global goals for reducing maternal mortality rates, over a million more women could tragically lose their lives by 2030 . "Despite global advancements, Africa continues to have disproportionately high maternal mortality rates. While the global average is 152 deaths per 100,000 live births, some African nations, including Chad, Nigeria, and South Sudan, report rates exceeding 1,000 per 100,000 live births," said Professor Samba Sow, former Minister of Health for Mali and currently Director General of the Center for Vaccine Development (CVD).

Sow said newborn deaths also remain alarmingly high i.

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