A new report released by the United Nations group led by World Health Organization shows a global decline in maternal deaths in the recent years.
The reports released ahead of next week’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Summit estimates that there are 358,000 maternal deaths per year as of 2008 which translates to 260 deaths per 100,000 live births. This is a one third decline since 1990, according to the UN but adds that it is far behind the 75 percent decline called for by the UN MDG#5.
“An estimated 358 000 maternal deaths occurred worldwide in 2008, a 34 percent decline from the levels of 1990. Despite this decline, developing countries continued to account for 99 percent (355 000) of the deaths. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia accounted for 87 percent (313 000) of global maternal deaths. Eleven countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan Sudan, and the United Republic of Tanzania, comprised 65percent of all maternal deaths in 2008,” says the report.
The report titled Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990-2008 was compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and The World Bank.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is expected to unveil the UN’s Global Strategy for Women and Children’s Health at the summit that begins on Wednesday. The strategy identifies what is needed to accelerate further progress to achieve the MDG goals and underlines the key message of the statisticians that progress is indeed possible. Present will heads of states and key private industry and civic leaders.
The Strategy was facilitated by The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, a group of more than 300 member-organizations representing Governments, UN agencies, donors, NGOs, universities, health professionals
and academics.
During the summit, the UN and The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health are hopeful to get new pledges for improving maternal, newborn and child health, as well as important new policies and programs to enable better access and delivery of key services to keep women and children
alive.
In the past months, more than $8 billion has been pledged, including $5 billion from the G-8, $1.5 billion from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, $1 billion from World Vision and $500 million from
Norway. Last week, Johnson & Johnson pledged a further $200 million in cash and medicine towards these goals.
WHO, UNICEF, and UNFPA) have previously published internationally comparable estimates of maternal mortality for 1990, 1995, and 2000. In 2005, the three agencies, along with The World Bank, developed country, regional, and global estimates and made the first attempt to assess trends in Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) at the regional and global levels. As an update to this ongoing effort, the four agencies will present the global maternal mortality data for 2008 as well as for years 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005.
The report says overall, it was estimated that there were 42 000 deaths due to HIV/AIDS among pregnant women in 2008. About half of those were assumed to be maternal. The contribution of HIV/AIDS was highest in sub-Saharan Africa where 9 percent of all maternal deaths were due to HIV/AIDS. Without these deaths, the MMR for sub-Saharan Africa would have been 580 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births instead
The fifth MDG aims to improve maternal health with a target of reducing MMR by 75% between 1990 and 2015 which translates to 5.5 percent annual decline in MMR from 1990. Globally the annual percentage decline in MMR between 1990 and 2008 was only 2.3 percent
The reports released ahead of next week’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Summit estimates that there are 358,000 maternal deaths per year as of 2008 which translates to 260 deaths per 100,000 live births. This is a one third decline since 1990, according to the UN but adds that it is far behind the 75 percent decline called for by the UN MDG#5.
“An estimated 358 000 maternal deaths occurred worldwide in 2008, a 34 percent decline from the levels of 1990. Despite this decline, developing countries continued to account for 99 percent (355 000) of the deaths. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia accounted for 87 percent (313 000) of global maternal deaths. Eleven countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan Sudan, and the United Republic of Tanzania, comprised 65percent of all maternal deaths in 2008,” says the report.
The report titled Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990-2008 was compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and The World Bank.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is expected to unveil the UN’s Global Strategy for Women and Children’s Health at the summit that begins on Wednesday. The strategy identifies what is needed to accelerate further progress to achieve the MDG goals and underlines the key message of the statisticians that progress is indeed possible. Present will heads of states and key private industry and civic leaders.
The Strategy was facilitated by The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, a group of more than 300 member-organizations representing Governments, UN agencies, donors, NGOs, universities, health professionals
and academics.
During the summit, the UN and The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health are hopeful to get new pledges for improving maternal, newborn and child health, as well as important new policies and programs to enable better access and delivery of key services to keep women and children
alive.
In the past months, more than $8 billion has been pledged, including $5 billion from the G-8, $1.5 billion from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, $1 billion from World Vision and $500 million from
Norway. Last week, Johnson & Johnson pledged a further $200 million in cash and medicine towards these goals.
WHO, UNICEF, and UNFPA) have previously published internationally comparable estimates of maternal mortality for 1990, 1995, and 2000. In 2005, the three agencies, along with The World Bank, developed country, regional, and global estimates and made the first attempt to assess trends in Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) at the regional and global levels. As an update to this ongoing effort, the four agencies will present the global maternal mortality data for 2008 as well as for years 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005.
The report says overall, it was estimated that there were 42 000 deaths due to HIV/AIDS among pregnant women in 2008. About half of those were assumed to be maternal. The contribution of HIV/AIDS was highest in sub-Saharan Africa where 9 percent of all maternal deaths were due to HIV/AIDS. Without these deaths, the MMR for sub-Saharan Africa would have been 580 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births instead
The fifth MDG aims to improve maternal health with a target of reducing MMR by 75% between 1990 and 2015 which translates to 5.5 percent annual decline in MMR from 1990. Globally the annual percentage decline in MMR between 1990 and 2008 was only 2.3 percent
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