Improve maternal health

Millennium Development Goal 5 (MDG 5) aims to reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio by 2015 and to universalise the access to sexual and reproductive health.

Quick Facts:

• Every year, 536,000 women and girls die as a result of complications during pregnancy, childbirth or the six weeks following delivery.
• 99% of these deaths occur in developing countries, half of them in sub-Saharan Africa and one third in South Asia.
• A further nine million women suffer complications that can result in life long pain, disability and socio-economic exclusion.
• Around 215 millions couples per year do not have access to modern contraception methods.

How is the goal progressing?

Progress in reducing maternal mortality and universalising access to sexual and reproductive health services and supplies is most off-track.

Overall, improvements have been slow and almost absent in Sub-Saharan Africa where women face the greatest lifetime risk of dying during pregnancy and childbirth.

The 450 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in developing countries in 2005 – equivalent to one woman every minute – compare to just 9 deaths per 100,000 live births in the developed world. The reduction in maternal deaths since 1990 was just 30 deaths per 100,000 live births. This small decline reflects progress only in some regions. (MDGs Report 2009)

According to the World Health Organisation (2007), between 1990 and 2005 the maternal mortality ratio declined by only 5%. Two other MDG 5 indicators, adolescent birth rates and percentage of contraception used among women, have also shown little progress: only 21% of sub-Saharan African women have access to contraception and 123 of each 1000 children born have a teenage mother.

The direct causes of maternal deaths are haemorrhage, infection, obstructed labour, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, and complications of unsafe abortion. A majority of these deaths and disabilities are preventable, being mainly due to insufficient care during pregnancy and delivery. Around 20 million women have unsafe abortions each year, and 3 million of the estimated 8.5 million who need care for subsequent health complications do not receive it. About 15 % of pregnancies and childbirths need emergency obstetric care because of complications that are difficult to predict.

Investing in maternal and sexual health can have a great impact on the other Development Goals. Greater use of condoms for contraception would reduce the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Reducing unplanned births and family size would result in savings on public-sector spending for health, water, sanitation and social services and reduce pressure on scarce natural resources, making social and economic development goals easier to achieve. Amongst other benefits, reducing unplanned pregnancies, particularly among adolescents, would improve educational and employment opportunities for women, which would in turn contribute to improving the status of women, increasing family savings, reducing poverty and spurring economic growth.