The maternal mortality ratio in Malawi fell from 675 to 439 per 100,000 live births between 2010 and 2015-16, due to increased contraceptive use, improved access to emergency obstetric care services (from 2 to 40 per cent) and increased skilled birth attendance (from 71 to 90 per cent) over the same period.

To further reduce maternal mortality and morbidities, more efforts are needed to scale up the provision of and access to highquality emergency maternal and neonatal care, including through community engagement and male involvement.

The prevalence of obstetric fistula among women of reproductive age is estimated at 0.6 per cent.