These briefing cards outline why decision-makers should prioritise saving mothers’ and newborns’ lives and key investments they should make in order to achieve that goal. Designed for use by policymakers, civil society groups, and advocates, the cards explain why the world needs to invest now in maternal, newborn, and reproductive health and the strategic actions needed to improve vital health services for mothers and their newborns in the developing world.
Of all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), MDG 5—Improve Maternal Health—has made the least progress. It is the most underfunded of the health-related MDGs. Globally, the MDGs are widely accepted as the path to ending poverty. But one central fact is not yet widely understood: none of these goals can be achieved without more progress in promoting women’s reproductive rights and protecting maternal and newborn health.
