The UNFPA Maternal and Newborn Health Fund 2025 Impact Report presents results from the Fund’s fourth phase across 44 partner countries. As UNFPA’s flagship programme for maternal and newborn health, the Fund provides support to countries carrying the heaviest burden of preventable maternal and newborn death.
The results reported here reflect how the Fund supports the leadership and investment of national governments in maternal and newborn health and the work of health professionals, communities, civil society and partners.
In 2025, the Fund contributed to safer delivery care for an estimated 4.7 million women, bringing the total to 41.7 million since 2008. Across Fund-supported countries, maternal deaths declined by 37 per cent between 2010 and 2023 – nearly 1.7 times the global rate of decline. Since 2008, the Fund has trained and supported 864,030 midwives, including 88,030 in 2025, and 153,000 fistula surgeries, including 8,201 in 2025.
The report aligns results to the four pillars of Start With Her: UNFPA’s Strategy for Reproductive, Maternal and Newborn Health and Well-being 2025–2030.
- Commit. The Fund supported governments to adopt strategies and advance policy reform. 38 of the 44 Fund countries had universal health coverage policies or plans in place, all of which included maternal health services and emergency obstetric and newborn care. 57% developed investment cases or acceleration plans, and 28 countries mobilized additional domestic or global resources with Fund support.
- Deliver. 77% of Fund countries introduced or began to scale new and lesser-used WHO-recommended commodities, with the strongest uptake for tranexamic acid and heat-stable carbetocin for post-partum haemorrhage. 60% of the 2,282 midwifery schools operating across Fund countries were nationally accredited and aligned to WHO and International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) standards. In humanitarian settings, the Fund helped keep 71 emergency obstetric and newborn care facilities operational in Sudan, deployed 275 midwives and solarized 40 maternity centres.
- Empower. 80% of Fund countries integrated maternal and newborn care into national community health policies, and 3,258 fistula survivors benefited from social reintegration services, including economic empowerment and psychosocial support.
- Leverage data. 43 Fund countries included sexual and reproductive health indicators in their national health management information systems, and 82% implemented or scaled maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response systems.
