ALERT – Action Leveraging Evidence to reduce perinatal Mortality and morbidity in Sub-Saharan Africa

Malawi is a landlocked country in South-Eastern Africa. The total fertility rate for Malawi was 4.4 children per woman in 2015-2016. (1) The rate of institutional birth in Malawi was estimated at 91% for 2015-2016, an increase from the 55% seen in 2000. (1) In line with this, the rate of skilled birth attendance increased from 56% in 2000 to 90% in 2015-2016. (1) During this time, Malawi saw a 53% reduction in the maternal mortality rate (MMR) from 749 in 100,000 livebirths in 2000 to 349 in 100,000 in 2017. (2) However, women continue to face a 1 in 60 lifetime risk of maternal death (2) whilst the neonatal mortality rate (NMR) in 2019 was 20 per 1,000 livebirths. (3)

1. National Statistical Office (NSO) [Malawi] and ICF. Malawi Demographic and Health Survey 2015-2016. Zomba: NSO and ICF, 2016.
2. WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, et al. Trends in maternal mortality: 2000 to 2017: estimates by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, The World Bank Group and the United Nations Population Division. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2019.
3. United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. Levels and Trends in Child Mortality: Report 2020, Estimates developed by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. New York, 2020.