October 08, 2020

Andrew Campbell 

According to a new UN report “A Neglected Tragedy: The Global Burden of Stillbirths” released October 8 jointly by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Bank, reports a stillborn baby is delivered globally every 16 seconds. The new UN report reveals almost 2 million infant loss of life in a year that 84% of these tragedies are accounted for from low and low-middle income countries.

The UN report is the first-ever research work completed by the UN Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN-IGME). As worsening COVID-related disruptions in health care service, the report indicates more than 40% of all stillbirths occurred during birth. Thus, the report points out the majority of these losses of life could have been prevented with proper antenatal care and during labor.

Stillbirths were mostly concentrated in India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Congo, China, and Ethiopia. These top 6 countries are accounted for half of the global stillbirths. Moreover, if current trends in the global stillbirths continue, the report predicts an additional 19 million stillbirths will occur tragically by 2030 over 117 countries of low and middle income. The report urges governments to take remedial measures such as effective monitoring and access to emergency obstetric care to prevent stillbirths.

Photo:Webshot.