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Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest maternal mortality in the world. According to estimates by the United Nations Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (UN MMEIG)1 in September 2017, while the African Region had recorded a significant decline in maternal mortality rate (MMR) of 37.8% between 2000 and 2017, 66% of the 295 000 maternal deaths reported globally occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. The African Region is also noted to have an extremely high MMR, estimated at 542 per 100000 livebirths, with an average annual rate of reduction of 2.9%.

Newborn deaths constitute 47% of all mortality among children under 5 years of age and accounted for 2.5 million deaths in 2018. Two million stillbirths are estimated to have occurred in 2017 with 50% as intrapartum stillbirths. Of note is that 98% of the global newborn deaths and stillbirths occur in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Furthermore, 1.3 million of the newborns surviving each year have major disabilities. Most disabilities are preventable, and disability is a sensitive marker of the quality of maternal and newborn care. It is estimated that 3 million of the mothers and newborns lost each year and stillbirths could be saved with universal coverage of quality maternal and newborn care (Every newborn progress report 2019).