cyberROTH Interactive Solutions

Goal 5: Improve maternal health

The nations of the world promised to reduce the ratio of maternal mortality by three quarters by 2015.

Progress: None

The United Nations reports that there has been no noticeable improvement in maternal mortality in the past eight years. Even though more than 90% of maternal deaths are preventable, in developing countries pregnancy remains the leading killer of women in their reproductive years, killing more than 500,000 women a year. In some countries, the problem is actually getting worse. In Liberia, for example, while infant mortality rates have improved in past 5 years, maternal mortality rates have gone up by 71%. But change is possible. Egypt, Honduras, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand were all able to slash their maternal mortality rates in less than 10 years.

What else is needed

Each additional midwife hired can save the lives of 219 women. $1.83 million USD invested in family planning could do all this:

• prevent 720,000 unwanted pregnancies
• prevent 300,000 abortions
• save the lives of 1,600 mothers
• save the lives of 22,000 infants

Success story: NEPAL

Nepal has been able to nearly halve the number of maternal deaths between 1996 and 2006— from 539 to 281 per 100,000 live births—by providing its poorest people improved access to sex education, family planning, and safe, legal abortions.

Nepal Ministry of Health administered its health aid as part of the government’s health budget because it found that a functioning overall health system was critical in supporting its safe motherhood efforts. As part of the improved access to health systems, Nepal introduced a voucher scheme that covered transport costs for all pregnant women and provided free services for women in 25 of the poorest districts. As a result, 600,000 more women are now able to deliver their babies in a health facility, and the percentage of deliveries made with a skilled birth attendant, midwife, or doctor have increased from 9% to 19%.

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See the other articles in the MDG Snapshot series:

• Where Are We on Hunger?
• Where Are We on Education?
• Where Are We on Health?
• Where Are We on Climate Change?