A Healthier Future for Women: WHO Unveils South-East Asia’s Reproductive Care Strategy to 2030

WHO’s 2026–2030 framework seeks to reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths and expand equitable reproductive healthcare across its 10 South-East Asian Member States. Achieving its targets will require stronger health workforces, domestic financing, modern contraception, quality maternity care and resilient services for underserved communities.

The World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia, working with WHO headquarters, country offices, national health ministries and technical experts, has developed a five-year framework to improve sexual and reproductive health across Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste. The strategy covers a region of 1.83 billion people and aims to reduce preventable deaths, close gaps in essential services and protect reproductive rights by 2030.

South-East Asia represents 22% of the global population, 24% of women of reproductive age and 22% of annual births. Although the region has made remarkable progress, WHO warns that poverty, workforce shortages, weak financing, falling development assistance, climate disasters and unequal access could slow further improvement.

Historic Progress, but Mothers and Newborns Remain at Risk

The region achieved the world's largest reduction in maternal mortality between 2000 and 2023, cutting its maternal mortality ratio by 76.2%. The ratio nevertheless remained at 88.5 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023, the third highest among WHO regions.

Conditions vary considerably between countries. Timor-Leste recorded 192.4 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, Myanmar 184.6 and Nepal 142. India's ratio was 80.5, while Sri Lanka reported 18.3. If current trends continue, the regional ratio could decline to 59.4 by 2030, below the global target of 70. However, several countries must accelerate progress to achieve their national targets.

More than 70% of maternal deaths are linked to preventable direct causes, including haemorrhage, hypertension, sepsis and abortion-related complications. Haemorrhage alone accounts for almost one-third of these deaths. The regional stillbirth rate stood at 12.6 per 1,000 total births in 2023, while neonatal mortality reached 16.4 per 1,000 live births in 2024.

Essential Health Services Are Still Not Reaching Everyone

Only 58% of pregnant women complete at least four antenatal visits, while just 18% receive the recommended eight contacts. Skilled health workers attend 87% of deliveries, and 85% take place in health facilities, but coverage remains significantly lower in Myanmar and Timor-Leste.

Postnatal services are another weak point. Only 62% of mothers and 78% of newborns receive contact with a health provider within two days of delivery. These gaps can leave dangerous complications undetected during the period when mothers and babies are particularly vulnerable.

Anaemia affects around 47% of pregnant women despite policies promoting iron and folic-acid supplements. Weak referral systems, transport shortages and uneven facility quality also delay emergency care. At the same time, caesarean delivery rates have risen to 45% in Bangladesh, 41% in Thailand and 40% in Maldives, raising questions about unnecessary procedures in some locations while disadvantaged communities struggle to obtain lifesaving surgery.

Family-planning services have improved, but only four countries meet more than 75% of demand through modern contraceptive methods. Maldives has modern contraceptive prevalence of only 15%, unmet need of 31% and demand satisfaction of 30%. Falling international assistance could increase prices and weaken supplies of contraceptives and other essential reproductive-health products.

Neglected Needs Are Widening Health Inequalities

The framework identifies infertility, unsafe abortion, cervical cancer and gender-based violence as major but frequently neglected health concerns. Cervical cancer remains the second most common cancer among women in the region, yet Bhutan is the only country reported to have achieved effective nationwide screening.

Restrictive laws, procedural requirements, stigma and limited information prevent many women from accessing safe abortion and post-abortion care. Survivors of intimate-partner and sexual violence also face uneven access to confidential medical treatment, mental-health assistance and referral services.

Adolescents make up 17% of the regional population but often lack reliable information, contraception and confidential care. Older people, persons with disabilities and populations in slums, remote locations and conflict-affected areas are also poorly served. Approximately 12% of the region's population lives in urban slums, where poverty and insecure living conditions intensify health risks.

These inequalities are reinforced by workforce and financing shortages. Only four countries meet the benchmark of 44.5 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10,000 people. About 30.9% of the population experienced catastrophic out-of-pocket health expenditure in 2022, while average public health spending was only $24 per person.

A 2030 Roadmap for Rights-Based and Resilient Care

WHO wants every Member State to bring maternal mortality below 140 per 100,000 live births and reduce stillbirth and neonatal mortality to 12 or fewer deaths per 1,000 births by 2030. It also seeks skilled attendance at more than 90% of deliveries, stronger antenatal and postnatal coverage, expanded cervical-cancer screening and better access to modern contraception.

Governments are encouraged to integrate reproductive health with primary care, strengthen the health workforce, improve data systems and protect domestic financing. Greater investment is also needed in self-care, midwifery, emergency services and affordable medicines.

Climate change and digital technology create both new risks and opportunities. Extreme heat, floods and cyclones can increase premature births, stillbirths and pregnancy complications. Telemedicine and artificial intelligence could improve access and referrals, particularly in remote areas, but require safeguards against privacy violations, bias and digital exclusion.

The framework's success will ultimately depend on national leadership and sustained investment. South-East Asia has demonstrated that rapid progress is possible, but reaching the remaining underserved populations will require health systems that deliver affordable, respectful and rights-based care to every individual.