Shocking Numbers 11 Million Pregnant Women at Risk in 2025—What the World Isn’t Talking About

In a world flooded with headlines, the quiet emergencies often go unnoticed. But this year, the silence around maternal health in crisis zones is deafening. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), more than 11 million pregnant women will need urgent humanitarian assistance in 2025 across 57 crisis-affected countries.

These women are not just facing the everyday challenges of pregnancy — they’re navigating war, hunger, displacement, and the collapse of healthcare systems. In many places, giving birth has become one of the most dangerous things a woman can do.

The $1.4 Billion Lifeline

UNFPA has launched a $1.4 billion appeal to deliver life-saving reproductive healthcare and gender-based violence prevention to over 45 million women, girls, and young people in 2025. This plea comes at a time when record global displacement has reached 122.6 million people — and over half are women and girls.

In war zones and refugee camps, pregnancy becomes perilous. Bombed hospitals, destroyed roads, and dwindling food and water supplies mean basic care is out of reach. Clean delivery kits, contraception, and postnatal services are luxuries. And in many regions, women are forced to give birth without skilled support — sometimes even without shelter.

UNFPA’s plan is not simply to keep women alive, but to ensure they can live with dignity. Its programs span emergency obstetric care, mobile health clinics, safe delivery supplies, mental health support, and community-based services to respond to gender-based violence. These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet. They are lifelines.

Gaza: A Microcosm of Maternal Suffering

Nowhere is the maternal crisis more visible than in Gaza, where an estimated 55,000 pregnant women face impossible odds. Approximately 20% are malnourished, and half are considered high-risk pregnancies due to the lack of medical care and nutrition.

• Only 9 out of 14 maternity hospitals remain partially functional.
• Premature births and miscarriages are sharply rising.
• Essential medical supplies are blocked from entry due to ongoing conflict and blockade.

Doctors are reporting a surge in maternal deaths and complications. In some shelters, women are giving birth on floors without electricity or sterile conditions. It’s a humanitarian disaster unfolding in real time — largely unseen.

Medical professionals on the ground describe the situation as desperate. Caesarean sections are performed under torchlight. Mothers suffer hemorrhages without access to blood banks. Newborns struggle to survive without incubators.

This is not a tragic anomaly — it is what happens when conflict collides with an already weakened health system.

Nigeria: Aid Cuts Threaten Maternal Health

In northeast Nigeria, maternal health is unraveling due to dramatic aid cuts, especially in areas impacted by Boko Haram’s insurgency. Clinics offering antenatal care and support for survivors of sexual violence are at risk of closure.

The statistics are heartbreaking:

• In 2023, 75,000 maternal deaths were recorded in Nigeria.
• That accounts for nearly one-third of all global maternal deaths.
• Funding reductions have impacted 70% of healthcare facilities that previously received external aid.

Doctors and midwives warn that without renewed support, these numbers will only rise. For countless women, losing access to even the most basic care could be fatal.

Field workers report seeing women arrive at clinics after walking for days, bleeding, malnourished, and alone. Sometimes, they arrive too late. The stories are gut-wrenching but all too common.

Community health workers, once the lifeline for rural women, are now unpaid, unequipped, and overwhelmed.

Afghanistan: Lives in Jeopardy from Frozen Aid

In Afghanistan, the suspension of U.S. foreign aid — including sexual and reproductive health programs — is endangering millions. One UN official warns that the halt in support could cause over 1,000 maternal deaths between 2025 and 2028.

The funding freeze affects:

• Over 9 million people inside Afghanistan.
• About 1.2 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan.

With no access to contraceptives or safe delivery care, unintended pregnancies and preventable maternal deaths are expected to surge. Women and girls are being left behind in a country already facing extreme poverty and limited health infrastructure.

Since the regime change, many female healthcare workers have been barred from practicing, further limiting access for pregnant women. In some areas, it’s nearly impossible for a woman to see a female doctor — and cultural norms prevent them from seeing male physicians.

The result is a medical black hole for Afghan women. And yet, it is preventable.

The Silent Crisis: Other Flashpoints

While Gaza, Nigeria, and Afghanistan make headlines, maternal health emergencies are brewing in many other regions:

• In Sudan, ongoing civil conflict has displaced over 9 million people, and more than 700,000 pregnant women are at risk.
• In Yemen, more than 4 million women of reproductive age lack access to basic services amid years of civil war.
• In Haiti, gang violence and infrastructure collapse have made maternal care virtually inaccessible in many parts of the capital.

Each region has unique complexities, but the outcome is the same: women dying from preventable causes during pregnancy and childbirth.

A Global Crisis, a Shared Responsibility

What’s driving this maternal emergency?

• Armed conflict destroys health systems and leaves pregnant women stranded.
• Climate disasters displace communities and cut off access to care.
• Funding shortages force aid organizations to scale back critical services.
• Gender-based violence rises in crisis settings, compounding trauma and leading to dangerous, unwanted pregnancies.

Without immediate intervention, the world could see a catastrophic reversal in maternal health progress. Years of global work toward safer pregnancies and lower mortality rates are at risk of being undone in just months.

Already, global maternal mortality has stalled. In some regions, it is rising. The Sustainable Development Goal to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to fewer than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030 is slipping out of reach.

What Can Be Done?

UNFPA’s appeal isn’t just about money — it’s about survival.

Their plan includes:

• Emergency delivery kits and hygiene supplies.
• Mobile clinics staffed with midwives and doctors.
• Safe spaces for survivors of sexual violence.
• Contraception and reproductive counseling, even in active war zones.

Every dollar funds real services that keep women and newborns alive.

In addition, long-term investment in maternal health systems is essential:

• Training more midwives and community health workers.
• Rebuilding health infrastructure in post-conflict areas.
• Addressing the root causes of gender inequality and violence.

The Cost of Inaction

If the world fails to respond, the cost isn’t just measured in dollars — it’s measured in lives. The death of a mother often leads to the death of her child. Families fracture. Communities weaken. Generations are lost. And all of this is preventable. As crises proliferate around the world, maternal health can no longer be treated as an afterthought. It must be seen as the foundation of global public health and human dignity.

Final Thought: Because Every Woman Deserves a Safe Birth

Whether in Gaza, Nigeria, Afghanistan, or any crisis-hit region, the fundamental right to maternal care must not be up for debate. Every woman — no matter where she is or what she’s fleeing from — deserves the chance to bring life into this world safely. We cannot turn away. Not now. Not with 11 million lives depending on what the world chooses to do next.

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