Nigeria, April 7 -- As the world marks World Health Day 2025 under the theme "Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures", the United Nations and World Health Organization (WHO) have raised alarms over the reduction in global aid and its devastating consequences for maternal and newborn health, with Nigeria ranking among the most affected countries.

A new UN report titled "Trends in Maternal Mortality" reveals that despite a 40% drop in maternal deaths between 2000 and 2023, progress has slowed dramatically and is now threatened by cuts to humanitarian health funding, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic and the withdrawal of U.S. aid under President Donald Trump.

The report estimates that 260,000 women died globally in 2023 from pregnancy-relate...