The publication of this textbook marks a great milestone in our joint efforts at achieving the Millennium Development Goal 5, which aims to reduce maternal mortality by three-quarters, a daunting task indeed for most developing countries. The African region, especially Eastern and Western Africa, has the highest ratio of women dying as a result of pregnancy or childbirth in the world, estimated at an average of 1000 per 100 000 live births. Half of all the maternal deaths world-wide occur in the African Region, a region that accounts for only 12% of the world’s population and about 20% of births. A lifetime risk of 1 in 3000,.
