Respect for human rightsMaternal health is a human right
Pregnancy kills one woman every minute
Almost all of these deaths are preventable.
95% of them occur in developing countries.
Poverty, violence and lack of education lead to the avoidable deaths of women in childbirth, with knock-on effects on children and communities.
The lifetime risk of maternal death in Sweden is one in 30,000; in Sierra Leone it is one in eight. Yet in many countries - eg. Nepal, Sri Lanka, Honduras - action by governments has reduced maternal mortality.
Amnesty International campaigns for preventable maternal death to be recognised as a human rights issue.
42 = life expectancy for women in Sierra Leone
Reports and resources
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Burkina Faso: Pregnant women dying because of discrimination Women are dying needlessly during pregnancy and childbirth because discrimination prevents them from accessing sexual and reproductive health services. 
Sierra Leone: 1 in 8 women risks dying during pregnancy of childbirth The report Out of Reach: The Cost of Maternal Health in Sierra Leone shows how women and girls are often unable to access life-saving treatment because they are too poor to pay for it. 
Peru: Women die because they face a number of barriers such as the lack of access to emergency obstetric care, unavailability of information on maternal health and lack of health staff who can speak indigenous languages. Manifesto for Motherhood
The Manifesto describes how the UK government can ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth safe, and every child healthy. All of three main UK parties signed up to The Manifesto in 2010.
Multimedia
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