Maternal

Goal 5 of the MDGs: improve maternal health

Greater progress needed despite recent drop in maternal deaths, say UN agencies

15 September 2010
While the number of maternal deaths has recently dropped by one third, United Nations agencies today stressed that more must be done to save the lives of women given that 1,000 of them still die every day due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth.
Goal 5 of the MDGs: improve maternal health

UNICEF welcomes new initiative to boost maternal and infant health in Angola

26 August 2010
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has welcomed a new campaign launched by the Angolan Government to reduce maternal and infant mortality, and encouraged authorities to ensure the necessary budget resources to improve health for women and children.
Goal 5 of the MDGs: improve maternal health

Deputy UN chief issues calls to African leaders to make maternal health a priority

26 July 2010
Investing in maternal and child health results in outsized benefits, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said, urging African leaders to make the issue a top priority and meet the 2015 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) deadline of drastically improving reproductive care across the continent.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) with Christy Turlington Burns

UN chief joins model-turned-director in urging greater investment for maternal health

7 July 2010
Secretary-General Ban stressed the need to invest more in the health of women and girls, as he joined former model Christy Turlington Burns for the premiere of her new film documenting the preventable tragedy of maternal mortality.
Goal 5 of the MDGs: improve maternal health

Efforts to boost maternal and child health falling short, UN report finds

23 June 2010
An annual assessment report released today by the United Nations shows that while significant declines have been recorded by many countries in reducing maternal and child mortality, greater progress must be made to meet the global targets contained in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
A midwife examines an expectant mother.

Ban urges end to ‘scandal’ of pregnancy-related deaths

7 June 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for concerted efforts to end what he described as the “scandal” of women dying in childbirth, saying even simple clinical procedures such as clean delivery rooms and the presence of a trained midwife could greatly reduce pregnancy-related deaths.

No woman should have to pay with her life to be a mother, Ban says

7 May 2010
Hundreds of thousands of women, nearly all of them in developing countries, die in childbirth every year, but this does not have to be the case, says Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, calling for global support for United Nations efforts to make motherhood safe for all.
Deputy Secretary-General Asha Rose Migiro

Investing in women can lead to progress on all development goals, says Migiro

15 April 2010
The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General has called for greater investment to ensure the health and wellbeing of women, stressing that healthy women can lead to better families and societies, and help achieve the globally agreed development targets with a 2015 deadline.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) with President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of Tanzania in April 2010

Ban readies multifaceted campaign to combat maternal mortality

14 April 2010
With hundreds of thousands of women and girls dying in pregnancy or childbirth every year and 10 to 15 million more suffering long-lasting disabilities, the United Nations today outlined steps for a multi-pronged campaign to fight the scourge.

Ethiopian and UN officials devise plan to boost maternal and newborn health

6 January 2010
United Nations agencies and Ethiopian health officials have developed a comprehensive two-year work plan to boost maternal and newborn health and survival in the Horn of Africa nation, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has announced.