International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Despite having massively reduced its maternal mortality rate over the last half-century, Malaysia faces a "big challenge" to meet its UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 target, the country's Family Health Development Division director Dr Safurah Jaafar has said.

The number of female genital mutilation (FGM) cases among Uganda's Pokot and Sabiny tribes was successfully reduced by 40 per cent between 2010 and 2012, a new report claims.

Some 14,000 villagers representing 20 communities have taken part in a ceremonial vow to end female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced child marriage in Niger.

School-age girls in London are "already being prepared" to leave the country so that they can undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) during the summer holidays, junior minister for international development Lynne Featherstone has warned.

The global rate of decline in maternal mortality rates, which is currently recorded at three per cent per year, will "need to double" in order to reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 target, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

Maternal and infant mortality rates are significantly higher in girls married before the age of 18, a new study has found.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego said that a ten per cent reduction in child marriage could be linked to a 70 per cent decline in a country's maternal mortality rate.

The Association of Healthcare Providers India (AHPI) has announced that it aims to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in the country by 50 per cent over a five-year period.

The Nigerian federal government has launched a new initiative that rewards pregnant and nursing mothers who seek out maternal healthcare by paying them "various sums of money", it has been reported.

Maternal mortality in Ghana's Ashanti Region is on the increase, with the area currently recording 315 deaths per 100,000 live births compared with just 190 in 2010 - well above its UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 target of 185 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2015.

The region leads the country in terms of maternal deaths, the Ghanaian Chronicle reported.

The number of children in Amudat, northern Uganda fleeing their homes and seeking shelter from local primary schools to avoid being subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) has reached "more than 400" in the last ten months, a report claims.