In summary:
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A Liberian medical professional has claimed that Liberia reduced its maternal mortality ratio from 1,749 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 628 in 2026.
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Our review of data from WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, the World Bank, and the UN Population Division confirmed that maternal mortality fell from 1,749 in 2000 to 628 in 2023, representing a reduction of about 64%.
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However, no official estimate for 2026 has been published, making the claim Mostly Correct.
On July 6, Dr. Lavela B. Kortima, First Vice President of the Liberia Medical and Dental Association (LMDA), claimed on OK FM that Liberia has made significant progress in reducing its maternal mortality ratio from 1,749 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 628 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2026.
Fact Check Report By: Annie-Mae Gonny | LMEP Fact-checking Grant Fellow
Dr. Kortima made this statement while contributing to a discussion on the challenges journalists face in accessing data from hospitals and other health institutions across the country.
The Center for Disease Control defines maternal death as “the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy,” but excludes those from accidental or incidental causes.
The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) measures the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in a given period.
The Claim
In his words: “When you look at the data now, as of 2000, we had a maternal mortality rate of 1,749, in 2023, it was around 1,068, as of 2026, we’ve come down to 628. Though there have been challenges in the Health Sector. But these are signs of significant improvement as a country.”
Rating Justification
To verify the claim, we reviewed maternal mortality estimates published by the Liberia Demographic and Health Surveys (LDHS) conducted between 2007 and 2020, as well as estimates produced by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Bank, and the United Nations Population Division.
According to the 2007 LDHS, which measures maternal mortality through household surveys, Liberia’s maternal mortality ratio was estimated at 994 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births for the seven-year period preceding the survey.
The 2013 LDHS reported an increase to 1,072 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births for the seven-year period before that survey. By the 2019–20 LDHS, the maternal mortality ratio had declined to 742 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births for the seven-year period preceding the survey.
Meanwhile, the latest joint estimates from WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, the World Bank, and the United Nations Population Division show that Liberia’s maternal mortality ratio declined from 1,749 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 628 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023, the most recent year for which internationally recognized estimates are available. This represents a reduction of approximately 64 percent over the 23-year period.
Conclusion
Based on our findings, we conclude that Dr. Kortima’s claim that Liberia reduced its maternal mortality ratio from 1,749 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 628 is Mostly Correct.
The available evidence confirms a substantial decline in Liberia’s maternal mortality ratio from 1,749 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 628 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023. However, the figure of 628 relates to 2023, not 2026, as no official WHO or UN estimates for 2026 have been published.
Editor’s Note: This story is produced as part of the Liberia Media Empowerment Project (LMEP) implemented by Internews with funding from the European Union. The funder or partner had no say in the production of this fact-check report.
