A report released by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation says they have discovered an innovation that will save over two million women and children from maternal maternity death.
The report was released at the seventh annual Goalkeepers Report, describing where the world has collectively fallen short at the halfway point for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and where innovation and investment can fuel progress, particularly in the fight against the global epidemic of maternal and child mortality.
Co-authored by foundation co-chairs Melinda French Gates and Bill Gates, the report highlights new data that shows the potential of scaling up global access to seven innovations and practices that address the leading causes of maternal and newborn deaths.
According to them, “By making new innovations accessible to those who need them most, two million additional lives could be saved by 2030, and 6.4 million lives by 2040. That’s two million families spared an unimaginable heartbreak and two million more people who can shape and enrich our world.”
Since 2016, progress in reducing global maternal mortality has stalled, and in some countries—including the United States—death rates have risen steadily.
Across the world, nearly 800 women die in childbirth every day. Though deaths of children under five have continued to decline since the mid-2010s, the first month of a newborn’s life continues to be the most dangerous, accounting for almost half of all under five deaths today. An estimated 74 per cent of child deaths happen during a baby’s first year.
In respective essays, Melina and Bill acknowledged the global efforts between 2000 and 2015 that significantly improved the health of mothers and babies but point out that progress has stalled since COVID-19 hit.
They explain how the discovery of revolutionary information about maternal and child health in the last 10 years led to low-cost and easy-to-implement innovations and practices that prevent and treat deadly childbirth complications such as post-partum hemorrhaging, infections, and maternal anemia.
They call for immediate action to help put the world back on track to achieve the global goal of cutting the maternal mortality rate to less than 70 out of 100,000 births and newborn mortality to 12 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030.
Many of the life-saving innovations and practices highlighted in the report can be delivered by midwives and birth attendants in communities.
