The evidence from the available data on indigenous women’s maternal health tells us that across the globe, indigenous women and adolescent girls experience significantly worse maternal health outcomes than majority populations.  Yet due to a lack of data, this alarming situation is concealed, preventing effective action to address it.

To help draw attention to this issue, this fact sheet, developed by UNFPA, UNICEF and UN Women, brings together the available data from 16 low- and middle-income countries on the maternal health status of indigenous women and adolescent girls, analysing the barriers behind these huge disparities, and identifying actions that can be taken to close the gap.

The fact sheet was developed in direct follow-up to a recommendation from the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issue at its fifteenth session in 2016.