The United Nations (UN) has conducted a global study on maternal mortality, perinatal mortality and neonatal mortality. The UN study report is disappointing for the Indian medical community. The report said that 60 percent of global maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths and 51 percent of live births are in just these 10 countries of the world and India tops the list of those 10 countries.
The latest estimates published in a progress tracking report by WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA were launched on Tuesday at the ongoing 'International Maternal and Newborn Health Conference' (IMNHC 2023) in Cape Town, the capital of South Africa. According to the report, in 2020-2021, around 45 lakh deaths occurred globally. These include maternal deaths (2.9 lakhs), stillbirths (19 lakhs) and neonatal deaths (23 lakhs).
Sub-Saharan Africa and Central and South Asia are the regions where the highest number of deaths are occurring. However, there are differences across regions in the extent to which countries are progressing in their efforts to achieve the 2030 goals globally. The 'International Maternal and Newborn Health Conference' started on May 8 and the four-day conference is being hosted by the Government of South Africa and AlignMNH. It is a global initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
According to the first ever jointly released Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) and Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (EPMM) progress tracking report, global progress in reducing maternal and infant mortality among pregnant women is due to declining investments in maternal and newborn health. It has been stable for eight years.
Dr Anshu Banerjee, Director of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Aging at the World Health Organization (WHO), said that pregnant women and newborns are dying at unacceptably high rates worldwide and the coronavirus pandemic has It creates more difficulties in providing essential health care. Banerjee said, if we want to see different results, we should do things differently. More and better investment in primary health care is needed so that every woman and child, wherever they live, has the best chance of health and survival.
India accounted for 7,88,000 maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths out of a total of 45 lakh deaths globally in 2020. The country accounts for 17 percent of global live births, which can account for a large number of maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths. India is followed by Nigeria, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and China in terms of maternal death, stillbirth and neonatal death.
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