Every year on April 7th, marking the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization in 1948, World Health Day brings global attention to a pressing health challenge that impacts people everywhere. It serves as both a call to action and a recognition of our shared responsibility to promote and protect health, no matter where we live.

This year, World Health Day is themed Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures, with a focus on maternal and newborn health. It’s encouraging to see this vital area of public health being put into focus; Despite its relevance to billions of people globally, maternal and newborn health remains underaddressed and often overlooked.

What’s going on with maternal and newborn health?

Despite advances in medicine and healthcare delivery, maternal and newborn mortality remains a global health crisis. WHO data show that an estimated 300,000 women die each year due to complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. The burden extends beyond mothers – more than 2 million newborns do not survive their first month of life, and 2 million babies are stillborn annually.

These losses are often preventable, yet progress continues to stagnate, slowing down since 2016. Currently, four out of five countries are not on track to meet the maternal survival targets by 2030. Additionally, a third of countries are projected to fall short of the targets to reduce newborn deaths.

These statistics aren’t just numbers. They represent families deeply impacted by (often preventable) loss.

How Elucid’s Work Aligns with World Health Day 2025:

At Elucid, these numbers reflect the daily realities faced by the communities we serve. We are particularly aware of the fact that health disparities do not affect everybody equally, and thatthere are large geographical discrepancies in healthcare access globally – discrepancies which also impact maternal and newborn health.

Much of our work takes place in sub-Saharan Africa, where many women and children still lack access to quality health services – this is reflected in the recent Trends in Maternal Mortality Report, published on April 7th by WHO, UNICEF, and UNFPA. The report found that sub-Saharan Africa accounts for approximately 70% of the global burden of maternal deaths in 2023. We see the faces and families behind these statistics, who are impacted by poor access to maternal healthcare, and we are committed to helping reverse this trend, one health birth at a time!

One key part of our approach is health service provision. In areas where public health facilities are either inaccessible or underperforming, we deploy mobile clinics to deliver essential and specialized services, including maternal care, vaccinations, and vision screenings.

Looking forward

This year’s theme, Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures, serves as a powerful reminder: investing in the health and well-being of mothers and newborns is an investment in the future of entire communities. When maternal and newborn health is prioritized, we lay the foundation for stronger, more resilient societies.

On this World Health Day, let us reflect on how each of us can help make maternal and newborn health a global priority. No one should be left without care simply because of where they were born.

Interested in more?

You can read about our latest impact in our 2024 Annual Report, and find more about our ongoing work on our website.

Additionally, for those interested in statistics, we encourage a read of the newly-released Trends in Maternal Mortality Report we mentioned above. For the first time, the report includes analysis of COVID-19’s impact on maternal mortality, offering a broader and more complete picture of shifts between 2000 and 2023.