Maternal Health: Investing in the Lifeline of Healthy Societies & Economies

There is no mystery about what measures are required to tackle maternal mortality. There are many examples of dramatic improvements in maternal health, including in severely resource-constrained environments in Africa and beyond. The Africa Progress Panel is preparing a policy brief targeted at African leaders, particularly Finance Ministers and decision-makers in both the public and private sectors on what can and needs to be done to accelerate progress on MDG 5. This will make the case that maternal health is not just a public health issue, but a development issue in which Finance Ministers have an integral role to play in ensuring greater investment in and the improvement of health systems, and maternal health specifically.