Millennium Development Goals
What Are the Millennium Development Goals?
The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions.
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio, and achieve universal access to reproductive health.
Improvements in maternal health are tightly linked with preventing infant mortality and protecting family health overall.
Maternal mortality could significantly be reduced by expanding reproductive health services before, during, and after pregnancy, as well as by making life-saving interventions.
In the world right now, over half a million women and girls die each year from complications during pregnancy and childbirth.
In sub-Saharan Africa, where almost half of the worlds maternal deaths occur, only 46% of deliveries receive skilled care. Additionally, more than 50 million women suffer from poor reproductive health and serious pregnancy-related illness and disability.
Sources:
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/goals.html
http://www.undp.org/mdg/goal5.shtml