Global Black Maternal Health (GBMH) was founded in 2021 for the purpose of creating a Black led global body whose key focus is to research, inform, amplify and create solidarity with Black maternal health movements around the world. Our headquarters are in London, with operations in East and West Africa and plans to expand, GBMH is helping to change the narrative of black maternal health.
In the UK Black women are over 4x more likely to die in pregnancy than white women. In the USA African American women are 4x more likely to die than white women, whilst in some states this figure is 7 x more likely, and in Australia Aboriginal and St Torres Islander women are more than 3 x more likely to die than white women in Australia.
Sub-Saharan Africans experience the highest maternal mortality rate in the world with 68% of all maternal mortality occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa with a ratio (MMR) of 533 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, or 200,000 maternal deaths a year.
The maternal health disparities Black women face globally is alarming and there are multiple factors that contribute to these outcomes. At present most research undertaken is conducted by non black lead researchers and research teams who often have little connection to our communities and understanding of the nuances of our cultures. This further compounds our trauma. Adopting the philosophy “nothing about us, without us” GBMH seeks to restructure maternal health research by placing agency and engagement firmly back into the hands of Black communities.
Through our own in house research teams and collaboration with external organisations around the world, GBMH is a global hub for maternal health matters pertaining to Black women and children around the world, where Black people are leaders and change agents in their own narratives.
