Geneva, Switzerland: Nearly 800 women died per day in 2020 due to pregnancy or child birth complications, United Nations said on Thursday.
The numbers can be better put at around one woman every two minutes, as per a report by AFP.
The report by the World Health Organization and other UN agencies said that rates of women dying during pregnancy dropped ‘significantly’ between 2000 and 2015 however it remained ‘ stagnated’ through 2016 and 2020.
Notably, in some regions of the world the situation has ‘reversed’, the report said.
Over a 20 year period between 2000 and 2020, the overall maternal mortality rate came down by 34.3 percent from 339 deaths per 100,000 live births to 223.
The report recorded biggest decline in death rates in Belarus to down 95.5 percent whereas Venezuela saw highest increase.
Most notably, the United States recorded the biggest rise between 2000 and 2015.
"While pregnancy should be a time of immense hope and a positive experience for all women, it is tragically still a shockingly dangerous experience for millions around the world," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reportedly said.
Between 2016 and 2020 maternal mortality rate dropped in Australia and New Zealand by 35 percent, and in Central and Southern Asia by 16 percent, becoming only two of the eight UN regions to do so.
Though maternal death are largely happening in the poorest regions, rate went up in Europe and Northern America by 17 percent.
Greece and Cyprus are the two European countries to record a ‘ significant increase’ in maternal mortality rates.
Meanwhile, Latin America and the Caribbean reported a 15 percent rise in the rates.