While the region has registered significant progress in reduction of maternal mortality, it remains at unacceptably high levels in some of the countries, whereas considerable inequalities persist in all. In this regard, improving maternal health, and especially that of indigenous women, remains a challenge in the region. Also as part of the Sustainable Development Goals, it is one of the objectives to be achieved by 2030.
This paper is presented in five parts. The first section examines sources of information and methods that can be used in estimating indigenous maternal mortality. The second section summarizes the information available in the national sources in the region for the estimation of indigenous maternal mortality, taking into account surveys, censuses and vital statistics. The third section discusses what emerges from the data sources on indigenous maternal mortality, and provides examples of the estimates obtained on the basis of the information available for some of the countries in the region. Finally, the last chapter points out the main findings of the work, as well as some recommendations for the improvement of data production in this area.
