Since the human race began, women have delivered for society. It is now time for society to deliver for women.
The Lancet, issue 380
 Every minute, the loss of a mother shatters a family and reduces the life-chances of remaining children.
The risk of an infant dying increases up to ten times with the mother’s death.
The cost of maternal health and disability must, however, be seen beyond the family sphere.
© Tom Weller
The death of a woman of reproductive age brings significant social and economic losses: the annual costs of maternal and newborn mortality is estimated at 15 billion US dollars in lost productivity.
Investing in women’s health is not only a rights imperative, it is essential for the well-being and development of families, communities and nations.
MILLENNIUMDEVELOPMENTGOALS
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) focus the efforts of the world community on achieving significant, measurable improvements in people's lives. They set the goals and establish yardsticks for measuring results. The first seven goals, such as eradication of extreme poverty and hunger or reducing child mortality, are mutually reinforcing and are directed at reducing poverty in all its forms. The last goal – global partnership for development– is about the means to achieve the first seven.
The universally agreed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) give a central place to maternal health. MDG 5, improving maternal health, is often called “the heart of the MDGs,” because if it fails, the other MDGs will also fail.
MDG 5: Improve Maternal Health. Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio. Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health.
For more on women’s health and development, visit:
Safe Motherhood
www.unfpa.org/mothers
Population and Development
www.unfpa.org/pds
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