Almost all of these women—99 per cent—live and die in developing countries. Since 1990, the global maternal mortality ratio has decreased by 42 per cent, from over 543,000 in 1990 to 287,000 in 2010. While this progress is encouraging, it should be taken as a call to further action. With only a few years left until the 2015 deadline to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the annual rate of progress will have to more than double if MDG 5, to improve maternal and reproductive health, is to be reached.
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