India's maternal mortality ratio drops nearly 80%

New Delhi: India's maternal mortality ratio of 2023 has reduced by nearly 80 per cent since 1990 -- from 508 per one lakh livebirths to 116 per one lakh livebirths, according to a new global analysis published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Women's Health journal.

India saw a total of 24,700 maternal deaths in 2023 translating to a maternal mortality ratio of 116 per one lakh livebirths.

Estimates suggest that Pakistan saw a total of 10,300 maternal deaths the same year, while the African countries of Ethiopia and Nigeria had 11,900 and 32,900 maternal deaths, respectively.

Researchers, led by those from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington and global collaborators, noted that though maternal deaths have declined over the past three decades, progress has slowed in recent years and remains uneven across countries.

The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 research provides the most up-to-date global assessment of maternal mortality trends across 204 countries and territories through 2023, they said.