Nearly 90 percent of maternal deaths are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. While South Asia has made steady progress, with a 53 percent drop in maternal mortality between 1990 and 2008, maternal deaths fell by 26 percent in sub-Saharan Africa during that time. About half of maternal deaths occur in six countries: Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Targeted interventions in these countries could have a major impact on global maternal mortality. For example, Afghanistan accounts for less than one percent of global births but nearly six percent of global maternal deaths
