Development Cooperation Handbook/Goal 5: Improve maternal health

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⇒ Episode 5 - Improve maternal health

Goal 5: Improve maternal health


Each year, hundreds of thousands of women die of childbirth in developing regions. Women dying of childbirth in the poorest countries is 200 times higher than those dying in developed countries.

The MDG 5 aims at reducing maternal mortality rates through greater access to reproductive health care, reducing adolescent pregnancies and promoting the use of contraceptives.

The target set for this goal was to reduce annual maternal mortality by 75%. But due to insufficient funds for actions taken to achieve this goal, the current decline in the annual mortality rates is only around 31%.

The inability of some governments to provide free basic medical services not only impacts the health and mortality of its citizens but also their wealth since they have to spend much more on health.

Edited Stories related to the MDG5