Globally, the maternal mortality ratio declined by 44 per cent between 1990 and 2015. The total number of maternal deaths around the world dropped from about 532,000 in 1990 to an estimated 303,000 in 2015. This equates to an estimated global maternal death ratio of 216 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, down from 385 in 1990 (estimates by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group & United Nations Population Division). In 2020, the maternal mortality ratio in the African region was estimated at 531 deaths per 100,000 live births. Countries with extremely high maternal mortality rates are South Sudan, with 1223 deaths, followed by Chad, with 1063 deaths and Nigeria, with 1047 deaths per 100,000 live births (WHO Statistics). Despite the implementation of several innovative interventions by the Federal Ministry of Health, Social Welfare, and Development Partners over the last two decades, maternal mortality remains high.
This rate of reduction, however, is not uniformly distributed throughout the world. In Nigeria, about 45,000 maternal deaths still occur, and the annual rate of reduction for maternal mortality is less than 4 per cent. An annual rate of reduction is necessary to attain Millennium Development Goal 5. Unsafe abortion alone accounts for about 10 to 14 per cent of maternal morbidity and mortality in Nigeria.
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