Aid cuts threaten progress toward ending deaths in pregnancy and childbirth, WHO warns

By Issy Ronald, CNN

(CNN) — More women could die in pregnancy and childbirth due to “unprecedented” aid cuts that threaten to undo two decades of progress in maternal healthcare, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned in a statement on Monday.

Maternal deaths declined by 40% globally between 2000 and 2023, making women more likely than ever before to survive pregnancy and childbirth, but an estimated 260,000 still died in 2023 from having children, a report released by UN agencies said.

Rather than expecting that number to decline further in the future, WHO warned that humanitarian aid cuts have left pregnant women in multiple countries facing “severe repercussions.”

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, WHO said. It has also disrupted supply chains “for lifesaving supplies and medicines such as treatments for haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia and malaria – all leading causes of maternal deaths,” the organization added.

The most drastic aid cuts have occurred in the United States, which was the largest single donor to overseas programs in reproductive health. But in January, the Trump administration suddenly froze and subsequently cut almost all funding to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). CNN has contacted the State Department, which now handles queries for USAID, for comment.

Several European countries have also slashed spending on overseas aid as they increase their defense budgets in the light of mounting tensions with Russia. In February, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland all announced plans to cut their aid budgets.

“Global funding cuts to health services are putting more pregnant women at risk, especially in the most fragile settings, by limiting their access to essential care during pregnancy and the support they need when giving birth,” Catherine Russell, executive director of UN children’s agency UNICEF, said in the statement.

“The world must urgently invest in midwives, nurses, and community health workers to ensure every mother and baby has a chance to survive and thrive.”

The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused widespread disruption to maternal health care services, was also detailed in the report. About 40,000 more women died due to pregnancy or childbirth in 2021, an increase related both to complications from Covid-19 itself as well as unreliable access to adequate health care during the pandemic, WHO said.

Maternal deaths were distributed unequally across the world and by income group, the report underlined. Around 70% of all maternal deaths were reported in sub-Saharan Africa, while poorer countries accounted for 43.9% of all maternal deaths in 2023.

Living in politically unstable and conflict-stricken countries also hugely affected maternal mortality over the past two decades, the report said.

“While this report shows glimmers of hope, the data also highlights 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,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s Director-General, said in the statement.

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CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.