BACKGROUND India accounts for 19% of global maternal deaths, three-quarters of which come from nine states. In 2005, India launched a conditional cash transfer (CCT) programme, Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), to reduce maternal mortality ratio (MMR) through promotion of institutional births. JSY is the largest CCT in the world. In the nine states with relatively lower socioeconomic levels, JSY pr...

BACKGROUND Maternal mortality is high in Africa, especially in Kenya where there is evidence of insufficient progress towards Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Five, which is to reduce the global maternal mortality rate by three quarters and provide universal access to reproductive health by 2015. This study aims to identify risk factors associated with maternal mortality in a tertiary level ho...

INTRODUCTION In Zimbabwe the integrated disease surveillance and response guidelines include maternal mortality as a notifiable event reported through the Maternal Mortality Surveillance System (MMSS). A preliminary review of the MMSS data for Mutare district for the period January to June 2014 revealed that there were some discrepancies in cases notified and those captured on the T5 monthly re...

BACKGROUND The International Conference on Population Development held in Cairo in 1994 identified the importance of male involvement in reproductive health programs. Since then, there has been an increase in reproductive health initiatives that target both men and women in an attempt to fulfill the 5th Millenium Development Goal. Yet, while the benefits of male involvement have been acknowledg...

BACKGROUND Maternal mortality remains a major challenge to health systems worldwide. Reliable information about the rates and trends in maternal mortality is essential for resource mobilisation, and for planning and assessment of progress towards Millennium Development Goal 5 (MDG 5), the target for which is a 75% reduction in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) from 1990 to 2015. We assessed le...

As 2015 quickly approaches, we have been made increasingly aware of our progress toward Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). However, one MDG has been particularly recalcitrant to progress: MDG 5, namely, improving maternal health. Few countries are on track to achieve the first part of MDG 5's goals, reducing maternal mortality by 75%. This article addresses the key priority issues of maternal...

Despite global efforts to improve maternal health, many developing countries including Pakistan have failed to achieve the target of a 75% reduction in maternal deaths by 2015. Addressing socioeconomic inequalities in access to emergency obstetric care is crucial for reducing the maternal mortality rate. This study was done to examine the time trends and socioeconomic inequalities in the utiliz...

BACKGROUND Every day approximately 1500 women worldwide die due to pregnancy or childbirth related complications. Maternal health care use is critical in reducing maternal mortality worldwide. Cameroon has one of the highest maternal mortality rates worldwide, but there is little knowledge about maternal health care use in Cameroon, particularly in more remote areas. The purpose of this study w...

The declining trend in the maternal mortality rate (MMR) from the 1930s to the late 1990s resulted from several strategies implemented within and outside the health sector. Expansion of both field-based and institutional services through the past decades contributed to improved geographical access and provision of 'free' services improved economic access. These led to increased use of antenatal...

BACKGROUND Little is known about the interconnectedness of maternal deaths and impacts on children, beyond infants, or the mechanisms through which this interconnectedness is established. A study was conducted in rural Tanzania to provide qualitative insight regarding how maternal mortality affects index as well as other living children and to identify shared structural and social factors that ...