The 2023 Women Deliver Conference in Kigali, Rwanda offered participants an opportunity to think deeply about gender equality, and the urgency of this moment in making progress was evident – even at a pre-conference event hosted by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA): Scaling Up Actions to End Preventable Maternal Deaths: Linkages with Family Planning, Bodily Autonomy and the Health Workforce.

Advances in reducing maternal mortality were seen all over the world in recent decades. Unfortunately, that progress now has stagnated, and immediate and decisive action is necessary to change the current trajectory.

A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

Extreme Heat’s Toll on Pregnancy and Reproductive Health

Preliminary data collected by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) shows that the first week of July 2023 was the hottest week on record. Recent global heatwaves also prompted a public health alert from the WMO concerning rising health risks.

Imagine trying to perform a C-section, or conduct a delivery, in a hospital with no light.

For hundreds of thousands of health workers, this is the reality they face each night. Close to 300,000 women and one million newborns (primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia) die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth each year. Hemorrhage, infection, eclampsia, obstructed labor, and unsafe abortion cause the majority of obstetric deaths— many of which could be prevented with access to timely emergency obstetric care.

Over the past several months, members of the foreign affairs and development communities have heaped a great deal of attention—and interpretation—on the pace of demographic change in Nigeria.

The United States is in the midst of a maternal mental health crisis. Not only are mental health conditions the most common complication of pregnancy and childbirth, but they are also the leading cause of maternal mortality. Each year, 800,000 families in the United States will be impacted by maternal mental health (MMH) conditions—and 225 new mothers will die by suicide or overdose. 

One in every 23 people is expected to need humanitarian assistance in 2023. That is a record 339 million this year alone. During such humanitarian crises, the needs of women, newborns and adolescents are often unmet, with devastating consequences. In fact, in 2023, 58 percent of global maternal deaths, 50 percent of newborn deaths, and 51 percent of stillbirths worldwide occur in the 29 countries with a UN humanitarian response plan or regional response plan.

 

A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

Climate Change and Migration: Ensuring Safe Access for Women and Girls

A new report from UN Women found that climate change poses a significant threat gender equality. In particular, changes in weather patterns and extreme events exacerbate vulnerability among women and girls and leads them to seek safety and opportunities through increased migration.