Local Voices Liberia

Out-of-Context: Shine Liberia Uses Old Maternal Mortality Data as 2026 Statistics

Local Voices Liberia

Photo Courtesy: UN Women/Winston Daryoue

In Summary:
  • Shine Liberia claimed that as of early 2026, Liberia’s maternal mortality ratio ranges between 628 and 742 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.
  • While the figures quoted in the post align with data published by the World Bank and the Liberia Demographic and Health Survey (LDHS), they are not 2026 statistics.
  • The World Bank’s latest maternal mortality estimate for Liberia is 628 deaths per 100,000 live births for 2023, while the LDHS figure of 742 deaths per 100,000 live births comes from the 2019-2020 survey period. There is no new available data for 2026.

On May 8, Shine Liberia, a Liberian blog on Facebook, published a post claiming that Liberia’s maternal mortality ratio as of early 2026 ranges between 628 and 742 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.

Fact Check By: By: Ralitsa N Massah | LVL Fact Checker

The post referenced data from the World Bank and linked the statistics to criticism of the health sector, indicating that the health system is terrible under the leadership of Minister of Health, Dr. Louise Mapleh Kpoto.

The Claim

Extract from Shine Liberia’s post: “As of early 2026, Liberian maternal mortality data reports a ratio of approximately 628 to 742 deaths per 100,000 live births.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), maternal death refers to the death of a woman during pregnancy, childbirth, or within 42 days after the end of a pregnancy from causes related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, excluding accidental or unrelated causes.
The WHO and the World Bank measure maternal deaths using the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), which calculates the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births during a specific period. This indicator is widely used globally to assess the quality of maternal healthcare systems and the risks associated with pregnancy and childbirth.

Rating Justification

To verify this claim, we reviewed the World Bank Maternal Mortality Data Portal. Our findings show that the most recent maternal mortality estimate available for Liberia is indeed 628 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. However, the data is recorded for 2023, not 2026.

The World Bank indicator specifically labels the data as a “modeled estimate,” meaning it reflects the latest year for which international estimates have been completed and published.

We further reviewed data from the Liberia Demographic and Health Survey (LDHS) 2019-2020 Report conducted by the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.

According to this report, Liberia’s maternal mortality ratio was 742 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births based on data collected during the 2019-2020 survey period. This confirms that the figure used in the Facebook post is taken from an authentic and publicly available report. However, the LDHS report does not represent a 2026 statistic.

Conclusion

Based on these findings, we conclude that the figure mentioned by Shine Liberia, claiming that as of 2026, Liberian maternal mortality data reports a ratio of approximately 628 to 742 deaths per 100,000 live births, is out of context.

While the figure cited by the blog corresponds with data published by the World Bank and the Liberia Demographic and Health Survey, it does not represent 2026 data.

The latest World Bank estimate available is for 2023, while the LDHS figure comes from the 2019-2020 survey. No official maternal mortality data for Liberia has yet been published for 2026.

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