Peter Baffoe, a Health Specialist at UNICEF, discusses the prevalence and drivers of maternal mortality in the Latin America and Caribbean region while emphasizing the need for stronger global efforts to address the broader, complex systemic issues
The death of a woman due to causes directly or indirectly related to pregnancy and childbirth is a rare occurrence in developed countries. However, for women in low and middle-income countries, pregnancy and childbirth can still be a treacherous journey. In 2023 alone, an estimated 260,000 maternal deaths occurred globally – meaning that more than 700 women died each day due to complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.
Maternal deaths are largely preventable, but they have devastating consequences for surviving children, families, and entire communities. They also reflect profound social injustice and a systemic failure to protect women, who shoulder the responsibility of childbearing for the continuity of humanity. At a minimum, society owes it to every woman to make this journey safe and respectful – not just for some, but for all women, everywhere.
Sustaining progress in reducing maternal mortality
Over the past two and a half decades, the global community has rallied to reduce maternal mortality through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and now, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Under SDG Target 3.1, countries have committed to reducing the global Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) to fewer than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030. (1) The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region, with an MMR of 74 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015, began the SDG era with optimism and a determination to achieve an even lower maternal mortality ratio than the global target. However, the latest figures show that progress has stalled.
In April 2025, the UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group, comprising WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, the World Bank, and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, released updated estimates covering 2000 to 2023. While the LAC region achieved a 16% reduction in maternal mortality between 2000 and 2023, this progress occurred primarily during the MDG era. The region’s MMR inched up from 74 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015 to 77 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023, representing about 7,200 maternal deaths every year and signalling a troubling halt in progress.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the LAC region
The LAC region is highly diverse, comprising sub-regional blocs such as Central America, the Andean region, the Southern Cone, and the Caribbean. It also includes a mix of lower-middle, upper-middle, and high-income countries, all of which face varying contextual challenges when it comes to health service provision. While the medical causes of maternal deaths, such as hypertension, haemorrhage, infection, and indirect causes, are well documented, several complex and systemic issues also shape the region’s maternal health outcomes. One such factor is the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely disrupted health systems and exposed pregnant women to increased risk. Though maternal mortality reduction had already slowed before the pandemic, COVID-19 worsened the situation significantly. It’s estimated that around 3,000 maternal deaths in the region could have been averted had the pandemic not occurred. The number of maternal deaths jumped from 7,742 in 2019 to over 8,000 in 2020, a 9% increase. The MMR rose from 77 to 88 deaths per 100,000 live births, as reported by the Regional Working Group for the Reduction of Maternal Mortality. The pandemic’s impact was not just statistical; it reversed nearly two decades of progress, largely due to reduced access to essential maternal and sexual and reproductive health services.
However, perhaps the most critical factor driving maternal deaths in the LAC region is inequity. Maternal health outcomes vary widely not just between countries, but also within them. For example, the lifetime risk of dying from maternal causes varied from one country to another and ranges from as high as 11.7% to as low as 0.5%. This disparity is mirrored within countries, where Afro-descendant women, Indigenous populations, and women from the poorest households are disproportionately affected. A particularly disturbing statistic reveals that 93% of maternal deaths linked to COVID-19 occurred among Indigenous and Afro-descendant women, (2) illustrating a stark indicator of the deep-rooted social, economic, and structural inequities that define maternal health in the region. Health financing is another major challenge. In many countries across the LAC region, health systems are fragmented, and primary health care is chronically underfunded, leaving the most vulnerable women behind. As a result, maternal mortality has become a visible manifestation of broader societal inequalities.
Adding to the challenge is the region’s adolescent birth rate, which stands at 51 births per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19, the second-highest globally. Adolescent pregnancies, often unintended and unplanned, carry higher health risks and mortality rates, and perpetuate cycles of poverty and exclusion.
In response to these mounting challenges, the Regional Technical Working Group for the Reduction of Maternal Mortality launched a new campaign in March 2023: ‘Zero Maternal Deaths: Avoid the Avoidable.’ The campaign outlines nine priority steps to advance maternal health and tackle the underlying causes of preventable maternal deaths.
At the heart of this effort is the belief that every pregnant woman must have access to timely, high-quality, and respectful care. Achieving this goal requires dismantling the systemic barriers that have long disadvantaged certain groups – particularly Indigenous women, Afro-descendant women, and those living in poverty.
Ending preventable maternal deaths is not simply a technical challenge; it is a moral imperative. The lives of women across Latin America and the Caribbean depend on our collective will to ensure that no woman dies giving life, regardless of her ethnicity, income, or place of residence.
References
- United Nations, department of economic and social affairs, sustainable development goals, targets and indicators
- World Bank blog, Desafíos en la reducción de la mortalidad materna
