Masaba Gupta, fashion designer and entrepreneur, has been appointed India Advocate for Maternal Health by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) India, as the country records its lowest-ever maternal mortality ratio of 87 per lakh live births in 2022–2024. The appointment, announced on 23 September 2026 in New Delhi, launches a year-long advocacy engagement focused on postpartum recovery, mental health, and breaking the silence around early motherhood.

India's Maternal Mortality Progress

India has reduced its Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) by 73 per cent between 2000 and 2023, according to the UNFPA statement. The current MMR of 87 per lakh live births puts the country firmly on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of an MMR below 70 before 2030.

This progress is attributed to over two decades of sustained government investment in institutional deliveries, skilled birth attendance, and last-mile health worker networks under the National Health Mission. The gains have been particularly significant for women from marginalised communities, the UNFPA noted.

What Masaba's Advocacy Will Focus On

Rather than stopping at the statistical achievements, Gupta's advocacy is designed to address what she calls the invisible aftermath of childbirth — the exhaustion, stigma, and silence around postpartum recovery and maternal mental health. Her engagement over the coming year will combine digital advocacy, thought leadership, and on-ground community interactions.

'Nobody warns you what motherhood actually costs a woman: physically, mentally, socially. The moment the baby arrives, all the attention shifts to the child, and the mother, who's just been through the most demanding thing a body can do, quietly disappears from the conversation. She's the one who needs care the most at that moment, and she's the one nobody's checking on,' Gupta said in the UNFPA statement.

She further explained her decision to partner specifically with UNFPA: 'I wanted to work with UNFPA specifically because this isn't a marketing story for them. It's decades of unglamorous work: the health workers, the systems, the real reasons India's maternal mortality numbers have actually come down. I'm not interested in the soft-light version of this. If I can use whatever platform I have to say the things women usually only say to each other in private, that's the role I actually want.'

What UNFPA Said

Andrea M. Wojnar, UNFPA Representative India, credited coordinated public investment for the country's maternal health gains. 'A decline in maternal mortality reflects what is possible when sustained public investment, strong health systems and committed health workers come together,' she said.

Wojnar added that reaching zero preventable maternal deaths would require going further — 'ensuring that every woman can access quality care, make informed choices and receive the support she needs before, during, and after childbirth.' She described Gupta as someone with 'a powerful ability to make these conversations visible, relatable, and impossible to ignore.'

Who Masaba Gupta Is

The 37-year-old designer is the founder of the fashion label House of Masaba and the daughter of film actress Neena Gupta and former West Indies cricketer Viv Richards. She joins an existing UNFPA India advocacy consortium that includes actor Kriti Sanon, National Ambassador for Gender Equality, and actor Soha Ali Khan, Advocate for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.

With India closer than ever to its SDG maternal health target, the focus now shifts to ensuring that declining mortality numbers translate into a fuller commitment to women's recovery and wellbeing beyond childbirth.