Facts

1 woman every 2 seconds is seriously injured or disabled giving birth

An estimated 2 million women in Africa live with obstetric fistula

It is estimated that another 100,000 develop the condition every year

More than 500,000 women die each year during pregnancy or childbirth, mostly in developing nations

80% of these deaths are completely avoidable

Sierra Leone has just 71 doctors and 112 midwives for a population of six million

Liberia has one doctor for every 28,000 people

In 2005, 8 million women around the world experienced life-threatening complications during pregnancy and childbirth

The 5th Millennium Development Goal is to cut maternal deaths by three-quarters by 2015

We are desperately short of achieving this goal