Worldwide, there has been little progress in reducing the risk of childbirth. Advancing gender equality, eliminating violence against women and ensuring women' s ability to control their own fertility were acknowledged as cornerstones of population and development policies. Many countries are working to improve reproductive health services and are training staff to provide better information, wider choices and client-centred care. But the need for universal access to education and quality reproductive health care is as pressing as ever. The benefits of education for girls and women are well documented, yet in developing countries, girls are two thirds of the 130 million children not attending school.
Education also leads to postponing childbirth, and having fewer and healthier children.
Although contraceptive use has increased, there are still 350 million women in developing countries who do not have access to a range of safe and effective family planning methods. Furthermore, there are no trained childbirth specialists present at almost half of all births in developing countries, putting the lives of mothers and babies in jeopardy. Every minute more than one woman dies from problems related to childbirth and pregnancy. Less than 1 per cent of the deaths occur in developed nations. Of the estimated 585,000 women who die each year, the majority could be saved.