The first joint stillbirth estimates released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank Group and the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs show that almost 2 million babies are stillborn every year – or 1 every 16 seconds.
The vast majority of stillbirths, 84 per cent, occur in low- and lower-middle-income countries, according to the new report, dubbed A Neglected Tragedy: The Global Burden of Stillbirths.
In 2019, 3 in 4 stillbirths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa or Southern Asia.
A stillbirth is defined in the report as a baby born with no signs of life at 28 weeks of pregnancy or more.
Imoh Edet reports.
