Even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 800 women around the world died every day from pregnancy-related causes. For each one of these deaths, another 20 to 30 women suffered acute or chronic illness or disabilities from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.

The Nairobi Summit in November 2019 was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), at which non-state actors made $8 billion in financial commitments to support the full implementation of the Programme of Action, including ending preventable maternal deaths. A High-Level Commission was established on 17 September 2020, tasked with keeping the 1,300 commitments made at the Nairobi Summit on track as COVID-19 threatened to turn back the clock on maternal health.

The Safe Birth Even Here campaign is aimed at raising public awareness of the alarming rate of maternal deaths in emergency and humanitarian settings and increasing support for protecting the rights of women and girls living in these precarious environments. This photo gallery is a snapshot of maternal health in humanitarian settings in the midst of the pandemic, highlighting the urgency of reducing maternal mortality through greater investments and maintaining the momentum of the Nairobi Summit. 

Khadija, a 28-year-old Syrian woman from Deir Ezzour, recently survived a harrowing journey as she gave birth to her sixth child. With help from the UNFPA-supported mobile team she was referred to a hospital and safely delivered her new baby boy, Mohamed. © UNFPA Syria

Raisa, a displaced midwife, travels for hours on foot to assist thousands of displaced women and girls in Al Wadi District, Marib, Yemen. © UNFPA Yemen

A mobile clinic supporting Ethiopian refugees in Blue Nile state, Sudan. The clinic provides women and girls in the camp with life-saving sexual and reproductive health services. © UNFPA Sudan

Stephanie, a midwife at Marigot Health Centre in Haiti, holds a newborn baby delivered safely earlier that day. © Elena Heatherwick

A UNFPA-supported midwife crossing long distances to provide labour and delivery care at an Ethiopian refugee camp in Blue Nile, Sudan. © UNFPA Sudan

A mother and baby from Myanmar come to use the services at the Mae Tao Clinic, Mae Sot City, Tak Province, Thailand. © UNFPA Vinai Dithajohn

Mumina receives a vaccination from a nurse while sitting on her mother's lap at a maternal and child health centre in Garowe, Somalia. © Tobin Jones