WHO And Ministy Of Health Malaysia Begins Campaign To To Improvement Meternal And Newborn Health

"Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures" - A call to improve maternal and newborn health. This World Health Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) is kicking off a year-long campaign calling for immediate and decisive actions to ensure that each and every mother and baby receives the care they deserve. The "Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures" campaign urges countries to renew their commitment to ensuring good-quality healthcare for every mother and every newborn.

In commemorating World Health Day 2025, Malaysia leverages this opportunity to highlight the country's achievements in improving the health of mothers and babies, and its continued commitment towards ensuring every woman has access to the comprehensive care she needs during pregnancy, childbirth and beyond, while also safeguarding the health and well-being of newborns.

The maternal mortality ratio is a key indicator that tracks how many women die during pregnancy and during or after childbirth, which serves as a crucial measure of women's health and how well our healthcare systems support access and quality care for mothers. Malaysia has made significant strides in improving maternal healthcare, providing widespread coverage of essential services.

According to Malaysia's National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2022, 98.1% of pregnant women have at least four antenatal visits. Importantly, more than three in four start these visits at the right time, which is during their first trimester, and nearly all give birth in a health facility. Maternal mortality in Malaysia has decreased markedly, decreasing from 210 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1963 to 26 deaths per 100,000 in 2022.

Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO representative to Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Singapore, believes that while this is remarkable progress, we should be striving to further reduce maternal mortality in Malaysia.