500,000 More than 500,000 women die each year from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.
Millennium
Development Goal 5 : Improve maternal health
Target
: Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio
The annual burden of maternal deaths has remained intractable at around 500,000
since 1990.
Despite expanded access to maternity services in several developing regions,
the latest international estimates indicate that
roughly 1 in every 4 pregnant women does not receive
even a single antenatal care visit from a skilled
health professional, and 2 of every 5 deliveries
occur without the assistance of a doctor, nurse
or midwife.
Source: UNICEF
and World Health Organization (WHO)
