--- title: Maternal Mortality is a Humanitarian Emergency description: “There are solutions to prevent motherhood from being a death sentence for tens of thousands of women around the world,” write Jacinda Ardern and David Miliband. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/03/20/maternal-mortality-is-a-humanitarian-emergency/ author: Jacinda Ardern article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-03-21T09:00:04.733Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-13T06:52:26.182Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Maternal Mortality is a Humanitarian Emergency og:description: “There are solutions to prevent motherhood from being a death sentence for tens of thousands of women around the world,” write Jacinda Ardern and David Miliband. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/03/20/maternal-mortality-is-a-humanitarian-emergency/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf475e11d935f1b43/69bdf844810061b1776c096c/Maternal-Mortality.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Maternal-Mortality.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Maternal Mortality is a Humanitarian Emergency twitter:description: “There are solutions to prevent motherhood from being a death sentence for tens of thousands of women around the world,” write Jacinda Ardern and David Miliband. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf475e11d935f1b43/69bdf844810061b1776c096c/Maternal-Mortality.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Maternal Mortality is a Humanitarian Emergency by [Jacinda Ardern](https://time.com/author/jacinda-ardern/) and [David Miliband](https://time.com/author/david-miliband/) Dame Jacinda Ardern is the former Prime Minister of New Zealand. Mar 21, 2026 9:00 AM UTC  Suspended Image—Getty Images by [Jacinda Ardern](https://time.com/author/jacinda-ardern/) and [David Miliband](https://time.com/author/david-miliband/) Dame Jacinda Ardern is the former Prime Minister of New Zealand. Mar 21, 2026 9:00 AM UTC As heads of state and ministers wrap up the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and the International Maternal and Newborn Health Conference begins next week, there is a truth we cannot ignore: empowerment begins with survival. As we write, there are [670 million women](https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2025/10/wars-on-women-escalate-as-global-conflicts-reach-record-highs) living within 30 miles of a war zone. And while these women may survive conflict itself, they face another roulette—childbirth–where they are up to 40 times [more likely](https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2023/3/17/23641598/maternal-mortality-pregnancy-sub-saharan-africa-who-cdc-report-womens-health) to die than women in the United States. Tragically, many of these women die from preventable causes. The [global humanitarian crisis](https://time.com/7341023/2026-new-world-disorder/) is just that, a crisis of humanity. But there is no question that a terrible burden sits squarely on women, and addressing the epidemic of preventable maternal and newborn deaths during childbirth in conflict zones is long overdue. Every year, [14 million](https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2023/03/07/default-calendar/who-postpartum-haemorrhage-summit) women experience postpartum hemorrhage—excessive bleeding after giving birth. Globally, about [70,000](https://www.who.int/teams/sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-research-%28srh%29/areas-of-work/maternal-and-perinatal-health/postpartum-haemorrhage) women die from it every year, making it the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. The gap between what is possible in stable regions—where maternal mortality fell by [nearly half ](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality)over the past two decades—and realities in crisis zones has become a chasm of injustice. The gains made thanks to investments in health systems, trained midwives, and reliable supply chains have bypassed the places where the International Rescue Committee works. Countries facing [humanitarian appeals](https://www.alignmnh.org/mnh-metrics-measurements/data-sources/) account for roughly 28% of global births but 58% of maternal deaths. When we decided to work together to help end maternal deaths in crisis settings, we came from different experiences. One of us led a nation while navigating new motherhood in the public eye, experiencing firsthand both the privilege of access to world-class maternal care and the weight of knowing that most women face childbirth under vastly different circumstances. The other has spent decades responding to humanitarian emergencies, witnessing how conflict and disaster systematically deny women the basic right to survive and bring life into the world. What we share is a refusal to just point at problems. And in 2026, there are solutions to prevent motherhood from being a death sentence for tens of thousands of women around the world. Simple tools and effective medicines exist. Heat-stable uterotonics, tranexamic acid, and misoprostol can prevent or treat life-threatening bleeding. A calibrated plastic blood-collection drape or tray allows health workers to measure blood loss [quickly and accurately](https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/05/10/1175303067/a-plastic-sheet-with-a-pouch-could-be-a-game-changer-for-maternal-mortality). A [2023 study](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2303966) found that providing a bundle of treatments simultaneously reduced severe bleeding, surgeries, and deaths by 60%. Community-based distribution of [misoprostol](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6836344/) can protect women who cannot reach facilities in time. And yet, in many crisis settings, whether a woman receives timely treatment for postpartum hemorrhage is little better than a coin toss. And as global humanitarian [funding](https://time.com/7298994/usaid-deaths-studies-estimates-foreign-aid-hiv-aids-malaria-sudan/) faces unprecedented contraction, already underserved services for maternal health, protection, and gender-based violence are being dismantled precisely when they could have the greatest life-saving dividends. [WHO data](https://www.who.int/news/item/03-11-2025-who-issues-guidance-to-address-drastic-global-health-financing-cuts#:~:text=%C2%A9-,WHO%20issues%20guidance%20to%20address%20drastic%20global%20health%20financing%20cuts,to%2070%25%20in%20some%20countries.) from over 100 low and middle-income countries reveals that global funding cuts have reduced critical services, including maternal health, by up to 70% in some contexts. Modeling suggests these funding cuts could mean an additional [510,000](https://www.path.org/our-impact/articles/protecting-progress-a-shared-fight-for-healthier-moms-and-newborns/) preventable maternal deaths by 2040 as a result. These are more than individual tragedies. Entire communities pay the price. And there is empirical evidence for it: maternal mortality has a statistically significant negative effect on GDP, with [studies](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17348747/) suggesting that the maternal mortality of a single person was found to reduce per capita GDP by [US $ 0.36 per year,](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41721965/) compounding into billions in lost output at the national level, on the scale of a major economic shock. In short, these preventable deaths are a fatal handbrake on social and economic development. This is why we have joined forces through the [Safer Births in Crises initiative](https://www.rescue.org/press-release/first-world-postpartum-haemorrhage-day-irc-announces-partnership-rt-hon-dame-jacinda), led by the International Rescue Committee in partnership with International Medical Corps, Jhpiego, UNFPA, and the Matariki Fund for Women. The aim is straightforward: to end preventable maternal deaths from postpartum haemorrhage in some of the world’s most dangerous places to give birth, including South Sudan, Burkina Faso, and Papua New Guinea, by closing the last-mile gap and bringing proven interventions to the front lines. Plans are underway to expand to Yemen and DRC. Needs are being outlined in Sudan and Syria. But let’s be clear: no place should be unreached or left behind. Partnerships, while fundamental, cannot compensate for shrinking political will. Governments and multilateral donors must go beyond this month's commitments around CSW and International Women's Day. Maternal and newborn survival in crisis settings deserves permanent status as a core humanitarian priority—on par with food, shelter, and emergency medical care. Funding for these interventions in humanitarian responses should be protected and expanded. The needs of crisis-affected populations must be integrated into national and global health strategies with evidence-based interventions scaled as a matter of urgency. Every preventable maternal death is a failure we should no longer tolerate. The solutions exist and the evidence is clear. 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