Every year in Sub-Saharan Africa, 280.000 mothers die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth; and for every woman who dies, many others suffer injury, infection or disability.
Every year 1,5 million African children are left without a mother.
A mother's death is a human tragedy, affecting families and communities. Her death endangers the lives of a surviving newborn and any other young children; girl children are often pulled from school and required to fill their lost mother's roles.
A mother's death makes it harder for the family to obtain life's necessities and escape the crush of poverty.
A great many of these deaths are preventable, when women have access to quality prevention, diagnostic, and treatment services.
Most maternal death and morbidity can be prevented when pregnancy and childbirth are attended by skilled health professionals (nurses, midwives or doctors).
In Sub-Saharan Africa (as in most of developing countries), adequate health services are often unavailable or inaccessible, leading many women to give birth in facilities without adequate equipment and services, as well as at home without skilled providers.
In particular, women in poor and remote communities, far from the nearest health services are most at risk.