BIRAO, Central African Republic (AP) — The agony began for Maude Ahmad Fadala shortly after sunset.Her baby was coming. She was in a refugee camp, weakened by typhoid. There were no camp facilities for what was about to happen, and she had no money to travel. She struggled to her feet and started walking.She stopped every few minutes, gripped by pain from contractions, then could go no farther.“I gave birth in the street,” she said. “There was no doctor, no midwife, and no one holding my hand.”___This is part of a series on maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, which has the world’s fastest-growing population and accounts for 70% of global maternal deaths. Around 180,000 pregnancy deaths are recorded every year across the continent, along with the deaths of about 1 million newborns.___Nearly two-thirds of maternal deaths worldwide occur in countries affected by conflict or “fragility,” the World Health Organization said this year. For women like Fadala, fleeing Sudan’s war to countries like Central African Republic, the danger doesn’t stop at the border.
A woman holds her baby outside the registration center for new refugees on the outskirts of the Korsi Refugee Camp in Birao, Central African Republic, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
