Maternity Matters:

Watch the recording

Every seven seconds, a woman or baby dies due to complications in pregnancy, childbirth, or the first few weeks after giving birth. Despite global efforts, mortality declines have stalled since 2016, with limited funding and public sector resources hindering progress. However, we can and must reverse this trend by strengthening health systems and scaling effective interventions.

In 2024, 194 countries committed to the World Health Assembly MNCH resolution, which aimed to accelerate progress in maternal, newborn, and child health to achieve SDG targets 3.1 and 3.2. This resolution builds on the significant efforts made by countries over recent years to implement critical MNCH interventions for improving the access, availability, and quality of maternal and newborn care, including through global initiatives such as the Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere, or EWENE, initiative.

With access to domestic and international financing being a challenge, and just five years remaining to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3—reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to below 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030—urgent and collective action is critical. Mobilizing resources and scaling effective interventions must be a global priority.

This event, hosted by Devex in partnership with MSD for Mothers and EWENE, brought together key partners to explore how to accelerate progress in maternal and newborn survival — ensuring that every woman and baby has access to quality care and a healthy future.