Improving the measurement of maternal mortality by strengthening civil registration and vital statistics systems

Today the Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG) released a report on the global and country maternal mortality estimates for 2013. Globally, maternal mortality ratio (MMR) decreased from 380 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births in 1990 to 210 in 2013. Although this 45% decline is far less than the expected 75% decrease between 1990 and 2015 in order to achieve the fifth millennium development goal (MDG 5), 19 countries were reported to have already achieved MDG 5: Belarus (96%), Maldives (93%), Bhutan (87%), Cambodia (86%), Israel (84%), Equatorial Guinea (81%), Poland (81%), Lao People's Democratic Republic (80%), Romania (80%), Bulgaria (78%), Estonia (78%), Timor-Leste (78%), Eritrea (77%), Cabo Verde (77%), Latvia (77%), Oman (77%), Lebanon (76%), Nepal (76%) and Rwanda (76%).