KATHMANDU: Nepal has made progress in reducing maternal and newborn mortality rates, according to the latest United Nations report.
The government’s efforts to improve maternal healthcare have yielded significant results, contributing to the country’s success in this regard.
The report highlights that maternal mortality in Nepal has decreased by 71 percent since 2000, with the current figure standing at 142 maternal deaths per lakh live births.
This is a significant reduction from the 2000 figure. The 2078 National Census had recorded 151 maternal deaths per lakh live births.
In terms of neonatal mortality, the rate has dropped to 16.6 per thousand live births, a marked improvement from the 21 per thousand recorded in the Economic Survey of 2023/24.
The government has set a target to further reduce the neonatal mortality rate by 12 percent per thousand live births by 2030.
Despite these positive developments, the report points out that many women in the country still lack access to quality maternity services, primarily due to health disparities between provinces and districts.
On the global front, maternal mortality has decreased by 40 percent from 2000 to 2023. However, the pace of progress has slowed since 2016. In 2023, 260,000 women worldwide died due to complications during pregnancy or childbirth.
The report emphasizes that while the global maternal mortality rate should ideally be reduced by approximately 15 percent each year, the current annual decline is only about 1.5 percent.
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