- Estimates for 2005 indicate that 10.1 million children died before their fifth birthday, mostly from preventable causes. Though infant and child mortality rates have declined globally, the pace of progress has been uneven across regions and countries. Accelerated improvements are needed most urgently in sub-Saharan Africa, Southern Asia, CIS countries in Asia and in Oceania. Not surprisingly, the lack of progress in child survival has been mirrored by neglect of many basic health services in parts of the developing world.*
*The Millennium Development Goals Report 2007MDG Report
- Each year, more than 500,000 women die from treatable or preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth. In sub-Saharan Africa, a woman’s risk of dying from such complications over the course of her lifetime is 1 in 16, compared to 1 in 3,800 in the developed world.**
**The Millennium Development Goals Report 2007 MDG Report
