Nearly two-thirds of all maternal deaths worldwide occur in countries marked by conflict or fragility, making pregnancy more dangerous in conflict and unstable environments. The World Health Organisation and partners stated this in a report released on Tuesday.

The risk of a woman who lives in a country affected by conflict dying due to maternal causes is around five times higher for each pregnancy she undergoes compared to her peers in stable countries, according to new findings in the WHO report.

In 2023 alone, an estimated 160,000 women died from preventable maternal causes in fragile and conflict-affected settings, that is, six in 10 maternal deaths worldwide, despite these countries accounting for only around one in 10 of global live births.

The new technical brief offers analysis as to why pregnant women living in certain countries are more likely to die in childbirth and confirms what many practitioners see on the ground: crises create conditions where health systems cannot consistently deliver lifesaving maternal care.

Gender, ethnicity, age and migration status can increase the risk women and girls face who are both pregnant and living in fragile contexts, according to the brief, produced by WHO and an inter-agency group that includes the UN agencies for development, UNDP; sexual and reproductive health, UNFPA, and children, UNICEF, as well as the World Bank.

A 15-year-old girl living in a country or territory affected by conflict in 2023 had a one in 51 lifetime risk of eventually dying from a maternal cause, compared with a one in 79 risk in a country or territory affected by institutional and social fragility, and one in 593 for a 15-year-old girl living in a relatively stable country.

Countries classified as conflict-affected had an estimated maternal mortality ratio of 504 deaths per 100,000 live births, while in countries considered institutionally and socially fragile, it was 368. In contrast, countries outside both categories saw a much lower ratio of 99.

(NAN)