Pathways to Progress:
Strengthening Maternal
Health Through
Sustainable Investment

ABOUT THE EVENT

Women today are more likely to survive pregnancy and childbirth than in previous decades. Maternal mortality has declined in many parts of the world, largely due to improved access to health care, skilled birth attendants, and strengthened health systems. These advancements have saved countless lives and reflect progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 3.1, which focuses on reducing maternal mortality and prioritizing maternal health globally.

However, while these gains are commendable, they remain fragile and uneven, particularly in low- and middle-income countries and crisis-affected parts of the world. The latest United Nations report on maternal mortality trends, published in April 2025, underscores this concern. Since 2016, progress has significantly slowed, with a mother still dying every two minutes from preventable complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Without renewed and sustained investment, we risk not only stalling progress but reversing it altogether.

This risk is being further amplified by unprecedented global aid cuts. With five years left to meet SDG 3, reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to below 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030, the international community’s efforts to align on sustainable funding for maternal health will ensure all women have access to safe, respectful, and quality maternal health services.

Global health leaders must act swiftly and accelerate current efforts in order to transform commitments into scalable solutions that increase access to quality maternal health care and drive global impact.

Pathways to progress: Strengthening maternal health through sustainable investment is a high-level discussion hosted by Devex in partnership with MSD for Mothers. This session will spotlight the role of sustainable financing in driving improvements in maternal health outcomes. We’ll examine how to turn commitments into action: within the broader context of the U.N. General Assembly’s emphasis on domestic resource mobilization and coalition-building.

Through data-driven dialogue and concrete examples of co-funding aligned with national priorities, stakeholders from philanthropy, the private sector, country governments, and implementing organizations will explore how targeted investments, anchored in partnership and backed with tangible evidence, can help drive and unlock progress at scale. The session aims to advance collective solutions and deepen global action to improve maternal health outcomes for all.