Lancet Global Burden of Disease: UPSC Current Affairs

Description

Why In News?

A Lancet study indicates that five countries, led by Nigeria and India, account for over one-third (36%) of global maternal deaths, highlighting a stagnation in progress since 2016.

What are the key findings of the Lancet 2026 Study?

Concentrated Global Burden

Just five countries—Nigeria, India, Ethiopia, Pakistan, and Cameroon—account for 36% of all maternal deaths worldwide.
In 2023, India recorded approximately 24,700 maternal deaths, second only to Nigeria, which reported 32,900 deaths.

Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) Trends

While the global MMR has declined, India's progress remains a concern, with a notable difference between international and domestic data.

Metric	MMR (Deaths per 100,000 live births)	Source
Global MMR (2023)	190.5	The Lancet, 2026
India's MMR (Estimate)	116	The Lancet, 2026
India's MMR (Official)	88	Sample Registration System (SRS), 2021-23

Off-Track for SDG Target 3.1

The SDG Target 3.1 mandates reducing the global MMR to fewer than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030 (Source: UN SDGs).
The study warns that 104 countries, including India, are currently off track to meet this critical target.

Leading Causes of Maternal Deaths

Globally: Postpartum Haemorrhage (21.7%) and Hypertensive Disorders (20.1%) are the top two causes.
In India: These two causes have an even deadlier impact, accounting for over 45% of fatalities. Haemorrhage alone is responsible for 33.7% of maternal deaths in the country.

Rise in Late Maternal Deaths

A concerning trend is the doubling of "late maternal deaths" (fatalities between 43 days and one year after childbirth). This share has increased globally from 1.3% in 1990 to 3.2% in 2023, indicating a major gap in long-term postnatal care.

Why Do Gaps in Maternal Healthcare Persist?

Socio-Economic & Regional Disparities: National averages hide vast differences.

States like Kerala (MMR 20) have achieved the SDG target, while states like Uttar Pradesh (MMR 141) lag far behind.
Poverty leads to poor nutrition and severe anaemia, a direct risk factor for fatal haemorrhage.

Inadequate Public Health Financing: Government Health Expenditure was only 1.9% of GDP in FY25. This results in high out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE), preventing poor women from seeking timely and quality care.

Postnatal Care Gaps: Current systems prioritize immediate childbirth, often neglecting the long-term follow-up necessary to prevent late maternal deaths from complications like hypertension.

Staffing & Infrastructure Shortages: Rural areas lack gynaecologists and anaesthesiologists in Community Health Centres (CHCs), causing critical delays in emergency interventions.

Government Initiatives for Maternal Health

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY): A conditional cash transfer scheme to compensate for wage loss and encourage institutional delivery and better nutrition.

Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) & Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK): JSY provides cash assistance for institutional births, while JSSK guarantees free and cashless services, including C-sections, in public health facilities.

LaQshya (Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative): A focused program to improve the quality of care in labour rooms and maternity operation theatres to prevent avoidable deaths.

Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN): An initiative that assures zero-cost, dignified, and quality healthcare for every woman and newborn at public facilities.

Way Forward

Increase Public Health Spending: Government must act on the National Health Policy 2017 recommendation to increase health expenditure to 2.5% of GDP.

Extend the Postnatal Care Window: Maternal care protocols must be redesigned to officially track mothers for up to one year post-delivery. ASHA and ANM workers should be trained to monitor for late complications like hypertension.

Shift 'Health' to the Concurrent List: As recommended by the N.K. Singh Committee, this constitutional shift would empower the Centre to enforce uniform standards and drive targeted financing in lagging states.

Address Data Discrepancies: Reconcile the data gap between international (Lancet's report) and national (SRS) figures through transparent, real-time, digitized maternal death audits at the district level

Leverage Telemedicine: Integrate AI-driven tools and telemedicine in rural PHCs to help manage high-risk pregnancies and track chronic conditions, especially hypertensive disorders.

Learn Lessons from Successful Model

Model	Key Strategy
Sri Lanka: Midwifery Model	Invested in a strong cadre of Public Health Midwives (PHMs) for community-based tracking, ensuring nearly 100% skilled birth attendance. (Source: WHO)
Rwanda: Mutuelles de Santé	Utilized a community-based health insurance scheme covering over 90% of the population, removing financial barriers to emergency care. (Source: World Bank)
Jharkhand, India: Targeted Intervention	Reduced MMR to 54, well below the SDG target. Success was driven by tribal outreach, strengthening the ASHA worker network, and improving district hospitals.
Tamil Nadu, India: CEmONC Network	Operationalized Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) centres 24/7, linked with an efficient ambulance network to ensure timely care within the 'golden hour'.

Conclusion

India's progress in reducing maternal mortality is offset by high absolute numbers and vast regional disparities, necessitating a concerted push of increased public investment, strengthened postnatal care, and technology integration to meet the SDG 3.1 target.

Source: DOWNTOEARTH

Attempt Daily Quiz

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. Consider the following statements regarding government initiatives for maternal health in India:

1. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) provides conditional cash transfers to pregnant women to compensate for wage loss and promote institutional deliveries.

2. Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) aims to provide completely free and cashless delivery exclusively for cesarean sections at public health institutions.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: a

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: The Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is a centrally sponsored scheme under the Ministry of Women and Child Development that provides conditional cash transfers (₹5,000 for the first child, and ₹6,000 for the second if it's a girl) to pregnant and lactating mothers to partially compensate for wage loss and promote institutional deliveries and improved nutritional health.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) does not provide free delivery exclusively for cesarean sections. Instead, it aims to provide assured, dignified, respectful, and quality healthcare at no cost to every woman and newborn visiting a public health facility, which includes both normal and cesarean section deliveries, along with free transport and ANC checkups.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

According to a 2026 Lancet study, India's estimated MMR is 116 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023. However, India's own Sample Registration System (SRS) 2021-23 bulletin provides a lower estimate of 88 deaths per 100,000 live births.

SDG Target 3.1 mandates reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to fewer than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by the year 2030. India is currently striving to meet this target at the national level.

Persistent gaps are driven by deep socio-economic and regional disparities (e.g., Kerala vs. Assam), inadequate public health financing resulting in high out-of-pocket expenditure, deficiencies in postnatal care beyond the six-week mark, and severe shortages of specialized medical staff in rural areas.