1 AN UNFINISHED GLOBAL HEALTH CRISIS
Maternal and newborn health remains one of the most urgent unfinished agendas in global health. Despite decades of investment and important progress, a woman still dies every 2 minutes from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth [1–3]. In 2023, an estimated 260,000 women died from maternal causes globally, while approximately 2.3 million newborns died during their first month of life in 2022 [1, 2]. This translates into nearly 700 maternal deaths and more than 6000 newborn deaths every single day. These deaths are not only personal tragedies. They have profound consequences for families, communities, and societies, affecting children’s survival, economic stability, and long-term social development. Most importantly, most of these deaths are preventable. (See link – open access)