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OTTAWA, March 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A chronic lack of clean water and hygiene services in delivery rooms is contributing to one in nine mothers in sub-Saharan Africa developing sepsis, with around 13,000 women dying from maternal sepsis each year, new research from WaterAid reveals.
That is equivalent to 36 mothers lost every day, making mothers in Sub-Saharan Africa 144 times more likely to die from sepsis than those in Western Europe and North America, WaterAid’s new “Born without water” report reveals.
The new research exposes the shocking reality inside some of the world’s most under-resourced maternity wards and reveals stark global inequalities in maternal sepsis, a life-threatening infection linked to unhygienic childbirth conditions and the third leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide.
Deep diving into the state of maternity wards across 10 Sub-Saharan African countries, including Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia, the research finds that 76% of births (around 3 in 4 births) occur in “unsafe” delivery rooms – defined by the lack of basic essentials:
- 65% of births take place in healthcare facilities which lack proper cleaning
- 66% are without handwashing facilities and soap
- 78% without any decent toilets
This means mothers are often giving birth in blood-stained rooms and forced to walk to unclean rivers to wash with open wounds post-birth, while babies are delivered by healthcare workers and midwives who have no choice but to provide care with unclean hands and equipment.
Across the 16 countries studied, Zambia has the highest proportion of births taking place without basic toilets (98.8%) and handwashing facilities (86.1%).
Global aid cuts are stalling – or even reversing – progress in reducing maternal and infant deaths. Yet simple, affordable essentials like clean water, toilets, and handwashing could cut maternal infections and deaths by at least 50%, WaterAid reveals.
The report discovers that investing in and delivering universal water, sanitation and hygiene across healthcare facilities could prevent 10 million cases of maternal sepsis and 8,580 deaths worldwide every year – at a cost of less than $1 per person, much cheaper than the cost of treating sepsis, the study finds.
These basic essential produces life-saving benefits beyond health, that ripple across families, communities, and society, including poverty reduction, education and gender equality
WaterAid Canada’s CEO Justin Murgai said:
“Too many women are still giving birth in facilities where there is no clean water, no soap, and no safe sanitation. When those basics are missing, childbirth can quickly become life-threatening. That’s not just unacceptable, it’s dangerous. Giving birth should be one of the safest moments in a woman’s life. Infections like maternal sepsis are largely preventable, and the solutions are simple and affordable. What’s missing is the investment and focus needed to ensure every healthcare facility has the basics.
“Providing clean water, decent toilets, and proper hygiene in delivery rooms would save thousands of mothers’ lives each year, and it costs less than a dollar per person. It is one of the clearest and most cost-effective investments we can make in maternal health and stronger health systems.”
WaterAid Zambia’s country director Yankho Mataya said:
“No woman should fear losing her life in childbirth because clean water is missing. No midwife should watch a joyful moment become a tragedy caused by an infection that clean hands could have prevented.
“Every two seconds, a woman gives birth in a healthcare facility without clean water, safe toilets, or adequate hygiene. This new research makes one thing unmistakably clear: the solution is simple, affordable, and long overdue. Clean water saves lives.
“Women across the world are calling for change. Together, we can ensure leaders listen and act. It’s time to deliver clean water for every woman, at every birth. Change starts with water.”
This research comes as this week twelve countries rally behind a global maternal health movement as WaterAid launches its Time to Deliver campaign. WaterAid is putting women’s voices and demands at the centre, calling on world leaders to respond to women’s demands and fund clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene for every woman, every birth.
WaterAid is calling on people to show their support for the campaign by signing a global petition to world leaders, ahead of the UN Water Conference in December.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- WaterAid is calling on people to show their support for the campaign by signing a global petition to world leaders at wateraid.org/timetodeliver, ahead of the UN Water Conference in December.
- Full “Born without water” report available on request
- Raw data sets and case study pack available on request
Guy Hutton, development economist and lead researcher, said:
“We know there are life-saving interventions for at least 17,000 women and over half a million babies who die every year due to sepsis during childbirth.
“These interventions are simple and cheap at less than US$1 per capita, but they are not invested in due to lack of knowledge and low political priority given to water, sanitation and hygiene services and infection prevention.
“Indeed, spending on basic essentials like toilets and handwashing facilities in healthcare facilities will be more than paid for by the medical cost savings from not having to treat millions of prevented sepsis cases per year.”
For more information, please contact:
Heba Elasaad at the Canada press line/WhatsApp on 403 542 6364
UK press line on 020 7793 4537
WaterAid
WaterAid is an international non-profit with one goal: to change the world through water. Along with decent toilets and good hygiene, a reliable supply of clean water is essential for health, dignity and a life full of opportunity. We work alongside communities in 22 countries, setting up entire systems that deliver clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene for millions of people. For more information, visit our website wateraid.org/ca, follow us on Bluesky @wateraid.bsky.social or find us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram.
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