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News
Pre-eclampsia gets a global game plan. The WHO and partners have unveiled a sweeping roadmap to address hypertensive disorders of pregnancy — a condition affecting 10–15% of pregnancies and responsible for roughly 42,000 maternal deaths annually. The 2026–2035 plan targets research gaps, medicine access, and health system strengthening to ensure life-saving care reaches women regardless of where they live.
The WHO and over 140 partners have launched the Global Roadmap for Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy 2026–2035, a coordinated decade-long strategy to address one of pregnancy's deadliest complications. Unveiled at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Global Conference, the roadmap tackles everything from research and innovation to medicine access, clinical guidance, and political accountability.
Despite affecting millions of pregnancies each year, pre-eclampsia suffers from a striking innovation gap — no medicines have been specifically developed and approved for its prevention or treatment. Research investment has skewed heavily toward diagnostics, leaving preventive and therapeutic options severely underfunded. The roadmap aims to redirect that focus by prioritizing 20 key research questions identified at a global summit in May 2026.
Why it matters: Beyond the immediate risks, women who experience hypertensive disorders in pregnancy face elevated long-term risks of chronic hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and kidney disease. Closing the care gap — especially in low- and middle-income countries — could save tens of thousands of lives each year.
