Maternal mortality in 2000: estimates developed by WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA.

Reduction of maternal mortality has been endorsed as a key development goal by countries and is included in consensus documents emanating from international conferences such as the World Summit for Children in 1990 the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994 and the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 and their respective five-year follow-up evaluations of progress in 1999 and 2000 the Millennium Declaration in 2000 and the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children in 2002. In order to monitor progress efforts have to be made to address the lack of reliable data particularly in settings where maternal mortality is thought to be most serious. The inclusion of…