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Mahesh

25/02/23 08:44 AM IST

70% of all maternal deaths in 2020 were in sub-Saharan Africa: UN report

In News
  • Of the estimated 287,000 maternal deaths recorded in 2020, 70 per cent (202,000) took place in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a report by the United Nations (UN).
Major Findings
  • The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) — deaths per lakh live births — in the region was at a dangerous high of 545, many times greater than the world average of 223
  • The top three sub-regions in the world with a high or very high MMR were found in sub-Saharan Africa: Western Africa at 754, middle Africa at 539 and eastern Africa at 351.
  • On the country level, a similar trend was seen with South Sudan (1,223), Chad (1,063) and Nigeria (1,047) recording an extremely high — greater than 1,000 — MMR.
  • With approximately 82,000 maternal deaths in 2020, Nigeria accounted for over a quarter (28.5 per cent) of all estimated global maternal deaths in the pandemic year.
  • Moreover, of the 10 countries estimated to have very high MMR in 2020 (500–999), all except one — Afghanistan — were also in sub-Saharan Africa. Only Mauritius (84), Cabo Verde (42) and Seychelles (3) in the region fell in the low MMR category (below 100).
  • Not only is sub-Saharan Africa the fulcrum of maternal deaths, but the maximum number of HIV-related indirect maternal deaths was also recorded here. Globally, 1,878 HIV-related indirect maternal deaths were recorded, of which 1,738 were in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • While 92.5 per cent of HIV-related indirect maternal deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, Least Developed Countries (LDCs) recorded 958 in 2020.
  • Proportion-wise, southern Africa had the highest proportion of HIV-related indirect maternal deaths as a subset of all maternal deaths, 10.3 per cent, followed by eastern Africa, 1.5 per cent.
  • India recorded the second highest number of maternal deaths in 2020, coming second at 24,000 to only Nigeria which saw 82,000 maternal deaths in the pandemic year.
Source- DTE

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