MDG 5: how close are we to success?

Only 6 years are left until 2015, the target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), yet improving maternal health (MDG 5) continues to lag behind. At the global level, maternal mortality still remains high in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asian countries. Most deaths are preventable and occur due to unavailability of and/or poor quality of service. Skilled care at facilities ensures safety, cleanliness, the availability of supplies and equipment, and it makes management and supervision easier. With the mixture of professionals in a facility, life-saving emergency care can be provided quickly. Wherever childbirth takes place, it is essential that the person who helps has the core competencies for safe delivery, has the necessary equipment and supplies, and has the option to refer to a functioning facility offering emergency obstetric and newborn care. The continuing high incidence of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity is unacceptable precisely because it is solvable. We know how to make pregnancy and childbirth safe. The task is enormous but not insurmountable. Our efforts of investment need to be equal to the tasks and must be intensified if maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality is to be reduced.