An evaluation thesis submitted to the Department of Health Systems and policy, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar for the partial fulfillment of the requirements of Master of Public Health in Monitoring and Evaluation

Abstract

Globally, an estimated 287 000 maternal deaths occurred in 2010, a decline of 47% from levels in 1990 along which Sub-Saharan Africa (56%) and Southern Asia (29%) accounted for 85% of the global burden (245 000 maternal deaths) in 2010 (5). Onwards globally, the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) fell by nearly 44% over the past 25 years, to an estimated 216 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births in 2015, from a MMR of 385 in 1990 (6). The approximate global lifetime risk of maternal death fell considerably from 1 in 73 to 1 in 180(7). Achieving the sustainable development goal (SDG) target of a global MMR below 70 will require reducing global MMR by an average of 7.5% each year between 2016 and 2030 which will require more than three times the 2.3% annual rate of reduction observed globally between 1990 and 2015 (6, 7). However, maternal mortality is unacceptably high, despite progress in some countries, the global number of deaths per year, estimated at 529,000 or one women’s death every minute has not changed significantly (8). According to a recent estimation by World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); ninety-nine percent of these deaths occur in developing countries. Yet, most of these deaths could be avoided if preventive measures were taken and adequate care was made (9).