Considerable progress has been made towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) since 1990. Although advances in improving MDG 4 and MDG 5a (reducing child and maternal mortality, respectively) have been made, progress is some countries have been insufficient. While some...

Pakistan remains one of the region's poorest performers against MDG targets. Progress toward education, gender, and health MDGs are off track. Despite slow progress, maternal health indicators have improved: maternal mortality has declined by over half in 20 years. A half of deliveries has been...

India is the third largest economy and has the second largest population in the world. It achieved millennium development goal (MDG) on poverty reduction; however, gender inequality still persists. Maternal mortality rate is 190 deaths per 100,000 live births, representing a 65 percent decline...

South Asia Region (SAR) has decreased maternal mortality ratio (MMR) by 65 percent between 1990 and 2013, which was the greatest progress among all world regions. Such achievement implores the question, What made SAR stand out against what is predicted by standard socioeconomic outcomes?...

Front Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- About the Authors -- Executive Summary -- Abbreviations -- Chapter 1 Introduction -- The Analytical Framework: Drivers and Enablers for Improving Maternal and Reproductive Health Outcomes -- Research Methodology -- Organization of the...

Malawi has made great progress in improving maternal and child health (MCH). Under-five mortality declined from 244 to 71 deaths per 1,000 live births between 1990 and 2012, and maternal mortality declined from 1,100 to 510 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births between 1990 and 2013. This note...

Egypt is a lower-middle-income country with a GNI per capita (PPP) of US$ 5,654 in 2012. Since the Arab Spring, Egypt?s economic growth has slowed to 0.6 percent in 2012. Half of Egypt?s 82.54 million people live in rural areas. Poverty is concentrated in Upper Egypt (the southern region). As of...

The South Asia Region (SAR) includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. With over 1.6 billion people, it is the most densely populated region in the world. The populations vary from 400,000 in the Maldives to 1.2 billion in India. The economies...

Bangladesh is among the most densely populated countries in the world. Poverty remains high at 43 percent of the population subsist on less than United States (U.S.) $1.25 per day (2010). Bangladesh achieved several millennium development goal (MDG) targets in education, health, and poverty...