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New WHO data reveals a staggering 64% of global maternal deaths occur in conflict zones, where the risk of dying in childbirth is five times higher than in stable nations.

The geography of war is also the geography of death for pregnant women. A damning new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that nearly two-thirds of all maternal deaths worldwide occur in countries fractured by conflict and fragility. It is a stark indictment of how global instability is waging a silent war on women.
In 2023 alone, 160,000 women bled out, succumbed to infection, or died from untreated complications in these chaos zones. The statistic is horrifying in its disproportion: these fragile settings account for only 10% of the world’s births but 64% of its maternal deaths. For a woman in a conflict zone, pregnancy is not just a biological process; it is a game of Russian roulette.
The data paints a picture of extreme inequality. A woman in a war-torn nation faces a risk of dying in childbirth that is five times higher than her counterpart in a stable country. The maternal mortality ratio in these zones stands at 504 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to just 99 in stable regions. This is not a gap; it is a chasm.
“The disparity of risk is stark,” the report notes. A 15-year-old girl in a conflict zone has a one in 51 lifetime risk of dying from maternal causes. In a stable country, that risk drops to one in 593. The collapse of health systems, the flight of medical personnel, and the destruction of infrastructure turn routine deliveries into life-threatening emergencies.
The WHO report is more than a collection of data; it is a plea for targeted intervention. It proves that we cannot solve the maternal mortality crisis without addressing the crisis of conflict. Until peace is treated as a public health intervention, thousands of women will continue to pay the ultimate price for wars they did not start.
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