Definition & calculation
Numerator: Number of births attended by a skilled birth attendant (doctor, midwife, or nurse trained in midwifery skills) during the period
Denominator: Total number of deliveries (or expected deliveries) in the target population during the period
Divide births attended by a defined skilled provider by total (or expected) deliveries; expected births can be estimated by applying the crude birth rate to the population.
Formula: (Numerator ÷ Denominator) × 100
Means of verification
Facility maternity registers; household survey; community birth records
Interpretation
Direction: Higher is better
Typical reporting frequency: Baseline, midline and endline (or annual)
Guidance & common pitfalls
Traditional birth attendants do not count as skilled. If using facility data only, be explicit that home births may be undercounted in the denominator, biasing the estimate.
This library is a curated reference to adapt, aligned generically with recognised humanitarian frameworks (Sphere, cluster registries, IASC, CHS and others). It is not an official indicator registry — always use the exact indicator definitions your donor or cluster requires.
Related indicators
- Crude mortality rate (CMR) in the affected population (deaths per 10,000 persons per day)
- Under-five mortality rate (U5MR) in the affected population (deaths per 10,000 children under 5 per day)
- % of caregivers of children under 5 who can correctly identify at least two danger signs requiring urgent care
- % of children aged 6-59 months in the target area vaccinated against measles