In 2000, the United Nations (UN) published the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to bring much-needed attention to the social, gender, and health inequities worldwide. The fourth and fifth MDGs aim to reduce infant mortality by 2/3 and maternal mortality by 3/4 by 2015. Despite considerable measures taken on global scale to improve maternal and child health, significant challenges continue to disproportionately affect women and children in resource-limited settings. Staggering numbers of preventable deaths occurring every year, 99% in developing countries, remind us that there continues to be massive inequity in access to basic healthcare in the developing world:
- 300,000 – 500,000 women die every year due to complications related to childbirth and pregnancy
- Four million infants die every year before reaching four weeks of age
