Too Many Women Still Dying in Childbirth, UNFPA Warns

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Maternal mortality remains a pressing issue for women's health. This includes when a women is giving birth, during pregnancy, or immediately after pregnancy.

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Indonesia's specialist for sexual and reproductive health programme, Sandeep Nanwani, affirmed this during an interview with RRI Voice of Indonesia on Thursday, 28 May 2026. He mentioned that based on data by Statistics Indonesia (BPS), maternal mortality is still at 144 per 100 thousand live births in Indonesia.

"That means about 4,000 women die every year just giving birth," he said.

The UNFPA specialist further explained that while Indonesia is still very successful in adopting contraceptives and family planning, some areas still need improvement. According to him, 1 in every 10 women still cannot access family planning methods, resulting in exposure to risks of unwanted or unintended pregnancy.

In addition, Nanwani said besides making them available and accessible, the services for women needs to be responsive to the needs of women. At the same time, the women needs to be empowered with information.

This education about reproductive health also must start from young age. "So, when we want to talk about reproductive health, the way in which we deliver that kind of education for young people is in a way that allows them to reflect, allows them to think critically, allows them to ask as many questions as possible," he said.

Nanwani then encouraged women to critically ask questions about their reproductive health to local service providers. Women can ask the midwives and spend time to find what works and does not work with them.

The other recommendation to support better reproductive health for women is do screenings at community local centers. According to him, this allows women with certain conditions to know their condition before getting pregnant.

Sandeep affirmed that it is better for women to know all the information to make the best choices. "Ask as many as possible so that you can make the best choice for you because nobody else knows what's best for you," he said.