Maternal mortality continues to be one of the scourges in global health. The fact that women die as part of bringing life is an indictment against the overall status of women around the world, and underscores the failure to prioritize women, mothers, and children. Efforts to draw attention to the causes of maternal death and the solutions to maternal mortality abound, but they fail to get enough attention from the decisionmakers who establish health priorities and allocate resources that could actually make a difference.

We live in a world marred by healthcare disparities. Pregnancy-related deaths and disabilities remain unacceptably high. Nearly 800 women die each day due to preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, and scores more suffer from lasting disabilities. Shockingly, 90% of these preventable deaths occur in low-resource settings.

The last two decades saw significant gains in reducing the incidence of malaria, but can we be doing even more to eradicate this disease? In early January 2024, a New York Times op-ed argued that millions were dying needlessly as tools to defeat malaria were within reach.

We face a global crisis of maternal mortality that extends to untenable disparities within the United States. Yet too often, the populations most affected by such health disparities are sidelined in the creation of solutions to address them.

Throughout history, women have played crucial leadership roles during wartime, even if their contributions were not always well-documented or recognized. In times of conflict, societal norms sometimes shift, allowing women to step into positions of authority that might have been traditionally reserved for men. Despite indisputable evidence of women’s leadership and bravery during conflict, however, women continue to be construed as “victims” and “passive actors”—rather than the political agents, leaders, soldiers, and visionaries that they are.

The Dot-Mom column of the Environmental Change and Security Program’s New Security Beat blog serves as a platform to shed light on diverse perspectives and insights from experts in maternal and reproductive health, gender equity, and peace and security. In 2023, the Dot-Mom column was marked by an incredible number of guest contributor articles.

The growing climate crisis presents one of the largest public health threats of the century. However, its countless impacts on maternal and newborn health outcomes (as well as health disparities worldwide) have only recently gained global attention.