The Arab States/Eastern Mediterranean/Middle East and North Africa region faces some of the world’s most severe and protracted emergencies. Disparities in health indicators are stark, with fragile and crisis-affected areas suffering more than stable regions. Progress towards global an national maternal and newborn health goals are stagnating or in some instances declining, necessitating collective action to improve access to quality care in fragile and hard-to-reach settings, particularly those affected by conflict, political, and economic instability, extreme weather events, and other emergencies. Maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response (MPDSR) approach offers a strategy to understand and address the circumstances surrounding and contributing to maternal and perinatal deaths, aiming to improve quality of care and prevent future mortality. MPDSR employs a cyclical process including identifying, reporting and reviewing deaths, and recommending/taking action to address causal and contributing factors.

This technical brief presents findings and technical recommendations generated from a Situational Analysis commissioned by UNFPA in 2023 which were presented and discussed at an inter-agency regional consultation organized by the regional offices of UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO in 2024 to inform future work on MPDSR implementation in fragile and humanitarian contexts.