The Rwandan government has long committed to reduce maternal mortality in order to achieve United Nation's Millennium Development Goal 5. The MDG5 target is to halve maternal and child deaths by 2015.

In Uganda, 16 women die every day due to pregnancy or childbirth related complications. Almost 99 percent of these deaths are preventable! Only 42 percent of births are assisted by a skilled health provider and 63 percent of women in rural areas give birth at home.

On February 3, 2012, Ibu. dr. Sunitri Widodo (APPI Chairman), Ibu dr. Ratna Pertiwi Tjaja, SKM (APPI Vice Chairman I), and Ibu. Dra. Giwo Rubianto, Mpd (APPI Vice Chairman III) introduced APPI (Aliansi Pita Putih Indonesia / WRA Indonesia) to the Women’s Caucus of Parliament in Jakarta.

A team of six members from India visited Indonesia from February 4th-7th, 2012 to learn from the Desa Siaga model and its Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness (BP/CR) strategy to reduce maternal mortality. The team was comprised of representatives from the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the government of Orissa, White Ribbon Alliance India (WRAI) and its WRA state representatives from Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

CARE under the Integrated Family Health Initiative (IFHI) is working in Bihar, India to improve Maternal and Newborn healthcare practices, including the quality of care. As part of the project, health system strengthening is being undertaken through participatory approaches by creating Quality Improvement Teams at the health facility level comprised of Doctors, Managers, Nurses and front line health workers.  This blog shares the experience of Gayatri who gave birth at the Primary Health Centre in Naubatpur block, Patna, Bihar, that is supported by the initiative.

The National Safe Motherhood Alliance (NSMA) of Yemen partnered with several government institutions and non-governmental organizations in 2011 to achieve its goals of social mobilization, media outreach and exposure, youth activities and capacity building.

The below post from Charlotte Warren, Associate at the Population Council's Reproductive Health Services and Research Program, describes a research project in Kenya which aims to understand the extent of disrespectful and abusive care to women during maternity care and the best methods to improve this care.