Facts and Statistics

According to the World Bank mothers who give birth in the UK have a 1/7900 lifetime risk of dying during childbirth. In 2015 they estimate that 9 out of every 100,000 women died during childbirth in the UK. In contrast,  World Bank data suggests that in Nigeria there is a 1/22 lifetime risk of maternal mortality, and in 2015 they estimate that 814 out of every 100,000 women died during childbirth.

1/7900 to 1/22 and 9 per 100,000 to 814 per 100,000. There is quite a wide disparity between these numbers. In fact, as the World Health Organisation explain, there is quite a wide disparity between maternal mortality rates in the West and in the Global South in general, with 99% of maternal deaths occuring in the Global South.

However, it does not have to be this way. Many of the reasons for high maternal mortality rates in the Global South, such as obstructed labour, infection and haemorraging are preventable and, with adequate training of medical professionals, can be resolved. This is why we at AAFCA do what we do.