The World Health Organisation (WHO) has officially announced the theme of World Health Day 2025, ‘Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures’, which is expected to focus on improving maternal and newborn health and survival.
World Health Day is marked around the world on April 7, the anniversary of WHO’s founding in 1948. Each year, it draws attention to a specific health topic of concern to people all over the world.
“The focus of this campaign comes at a crucial moment, aiming to help countries regain lost progress while showcasing new research and evidence that will enhance the health of women and babies globally,” Director of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing at WHO, Anshu Banerjee, said.
Banerjee added that “as rollbacks to humanitarian assistance jeopardise a critical lifeline for millions, it will also be an opportunity to step up support and collaboration for global health – and deliver hope to those in urgent need of lifesaving care”.
WHO says that, according to the most recent estimates, close to 300,000 women lose their life due to pregnancy or childbirth each year; over two million babies die in their first month of life and around two million more are stillborn.
“This is roughly one preventable death every seven seconds – losses which bring tremendous sadness and heartache to millions of families around the world,” the health agency says.
It adds that, while maternal and newborn deaths occur in all regions, the vast majority are in the poorest countries and those facing conflict and other crises.
WHO further states that based on current trends, a four 4 out of five countries are off track to meet the United Nations’ global targets for improving maternal survival by 2030 and that one in three will fail to meet targets for reducing newborn deaths.
Director for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research at WHO, Pascale Allotey, said it is not sufficient that women survive childbirth but they must also be able to enjoy their lives in good health.
“Women and girls everywhere need access to health providers who listen to their concerns and meet their needs, while ensuring they can plan their fertility, take charge of their futures and protect their health,” Allotey said.
Malawi is said to have made considerable progress in the past decade in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
As reported in the Health Sector Strategic Plan III 2023 – 2030, maternal mortality fell from 439 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2025 to 349 in 2019.
Despite this progress, according to experts, more remains to be done, as efforts to improve maternal, newborn and child health are thwarted by several factors including gaps in health system financing.
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