The 1994 UN conference in Cairo was the first international conference to put unsafe abortion on the public health agenda. The conference said abortion should not be provided as a form of family planning, but, where it was legal, it should be safe. Where it was not, it should be treated as a public health problem. Health experts say they expect both sides will want to maintain the status quo at the New York population conference. Poverty Poverty is the key factor in maternal death rates.
African women are at highest risk of death.
The average African woman faces a one in 16 risk of dying from pregnancy or childbirth. This compares with a one in 28 risk for all developing countries and a one in 1,800 risk for women in developed countries. However, in individual countries, the risk can be even higher. Ethiopian women face a one in nine chance of dying. Women's health in pregnancy and the healthcare they receive in childbirth has a knock-on effect on their children.