About one stillbirth occurs every 16 seconds, for a total of an estimated 2 million stillborn babies per year according to the latest WHO and UNICEF estimates. Three quarters of all global stillbirths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, although stillbirths is an issue for every country with disparities among vulnerable groups in high-income countries. More than 40% of stillbirths occur during labour and birth and are preventable with high quality care during pregnancy and birth. Without urgent action and accelerated progress, there will be 20 million babies stillborn by 2030.
WHO, UNICEF and other partners have called for a renewed commitment to end preventable stillbirths by 2030. The Every Newborn Action Plan includes a global target for stillbirth reduction that all countries achieve a stillbirth rate of 12 or fewer per 1000 total births by 2030, which was adopted in the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health 2016-2030. To attain this ambitious target, WHO is committed to :
This will require working toward the ENAP stillbirth targets, the ENAP coverage targets to close the equity gap within countries, meeting antenatal and intrapartum quality care targets, achieve consensus on bereavement care and materials, and take global action to reduce the stigma around stillbirth.
