1 More than 1 in 20
2 1 in 20 to 1 to 49
3 1 in 50 to 1 in 499
4 1 in 500 to 1 in 1,999
5 1 in 2,000 to 1 in 4,999
6 Less than 1 in 5,000
7 No Data
1 Less than 15%
2 15%-29.9%
3 30%-39.9%
4 40%-49.9%
5 50% and over
6 No data

Lifetime Risk of Maternal Mortality

What does it mean ?

The Lifetime Risk of Maternal Mortality is the probability that a 15 year- old girl will die eventually from a maternal cause (any cause related to pregnancy, during childbirth, pregnancy or within 42 days of childbirth), assuming that current levels of fertility and mortality do not change during her lifetime. In high fertility societies the risk is higher because on average women go through the risk associated with pregnancy and childbirth many times in their life.

Why does it matter ?

Problems during pregnancy and childbirth are a leading cause of death and disability of women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in low income countries. This indicator acts as a marker of how likely it is to face death related to pregnancy and childbirth and reflects the ability of a country's healthcare system to provide safe care during pregnancy and childbirth.

How is it collected ?

In high income countries the data for Lifetime Risk of Maternal Mortality are from national registers of deaths to women, with maternal death as the cause. Also required in the calculation is the probability of becoming pregnant (fertility rates by age).To calculate LTR, the cumulative probability over a whole life time of becoming pregnant and dying from the pregnancy is there for calculated by summing over all reproductive ages the probabilities of becoming pregnant and dying of maternal causes

LTR 2017 - World Bank. 2020. Lifetime risk of maternal death (1 in: rate varies by country). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MMR.RISK [Accessed 9 March 2020]

Out of Pocket Health Expenditure

What does it mean ?

This indicator is calculated by adding together all direct payments from every household to health care providers or pharmacists, as a proportion of the total health-related spending in a country. Out of pocket health expenditure is only part of private health spending, because it does not include private health insurance. Together, government, external and private health spending make up the total health care spending in a country.

Why does it matter ?

Out of pocket health expenditure is a core indicator measuring the equity of health systems and the extent to which access to health care depends on one's ability to pay. Certain households may not be able to fund health care expenses out of pocket, resulting in untreated health problems and lack of care. For others, unplanned health spending will impoverish their whole household as they may be forced borrow money, to sell their assets or pull their children out of school to afford the costs.

How is it collected ?

The preferred source of data for this indicator is a National Health Account, which is an internationally agreed method for collecting information about all financial flows related to health in a country. Where a recent National Health Account is not available, the WHO's health financing team collects similar information using technical contacts in-country and publicly available documents.

WHO World Health Statistics 2014. Estimates for 2012 http://apps.who.int/nha/database