United Nations Millennium Development Goals

• Home
• UN media contacts
• UN Partners on MDGs
• UNDP
  United Nations Development Programme
• Millennium Campaign
• UNDESA
  UN Department of Economic & Social Affairs
• World Bank
• UNICEF
  UN Children's Fund
• UNEP
  UN Environment Programme
• UNFPA
  UN Population Fund
• WHO
  World Health Organization
• IMF
  International Monetary Fund
• UN-HABITAT
  UN Human Settlements Programme
• FAO
  Food & Agriculture Organization
• IFAD
  International Fund for Agricultural Development
• ILO
  International Labour Organization
• ITU
  International Telecommunications Union
• UNAIDS
  Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS
• UNCTAD
  UN Conference on Trade and Development
• UNDG
  UN Development Group
• UNESCO
  UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
• UNHCR
  UN Refugee Agency
• UNIDO
  UN Industrial Development Organization
• UN Women
  UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
• OHCHR
  Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
• UNRWA
  UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
• WFP
  World Food Programme
• WMO
  World Meteorological Organization
• WTO
  World Trade Organization
• UNWTO
  World Tourism Organization
• UNOSDP
  UN Office on Sport for Development and Peace
• Regional Commissions
• UN Homepage

GOAL 5:
IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH

• Addendum
• Fact Sheet

• MDG Monitor for Goal 5

Target 5.A:
Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio

• Most maternal deaths could be avoided
• Giving birth is especially risky in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where most women deliver without skilled care
• The rural-urban gap in skilled care during childbirth has narrowed

Target 5.B:
Achieve universal access to reproductive health

• More women are receiving antenatal care
• Inequalities in care during pregnancy are striking
• Only one in three rural women in developing regions receive the recommended care during pregnancy
• Progress has stalled in reducing the number of teenage pregnancies, putting more young mothers at risk
• Poverty and lack of education perpetuate high adolescent birth rates
• Progress in expanding the use of contraceptives by women has slowed
• Use of contraception is lowest among the poorest women and those with no education
• Inadequate funding for family planning is a major failure in fulfilling commitments to improving women’s reproductive health