Health

 Outdoor air pollution is a major environmental health problem affecting everyone in low-, middle-, and high-income countries.Ambient (outdoor) air pollution in both cities and rural areas was estimated to cause 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide per year in 2019; this mortality is due to exposure to fine particulate matter, which causes cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and cancers.WHO estimates that in 2019, some 37% of outdoor air pollution-related premature deaths were due to ischaemic heart disease and stroke, 18% and 23% of deaths were due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and...

Maternal mortality is unacceptably high. About 287 000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2020. Almost 95% of all maternal deaths occurred in low and lower middle-income countries in 2020, and most could have been prevented.Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) regions and sub-regions are used here. Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia accounted for around 87% (253 000) of the estimated global maternal deaths in 2020. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounted for around 70% of maternal deaths (202 000), while Southern Asia accounted for around 16% (47 000).At the same...