Poorest countries improve in cutting kid mortality

Some of the world poorest countries have managed to cut maternal and young child mortality rates by half or more, according a new report from Countdown to 2015 released at the Women Deliver conference on Wednesday.

Rwanda, Botswana and Cambodia were listed in the report as countries that have made notable progress in reducing mortality since 2000, each ranking in the top five among the 75 countries studied in the report regarding the rate of reduction of mortality.

The success is particularly notable in light of much slower progress in the 1990s, where in some cases, mortality rates rose due to conflicts and instability and/or high HIV/AIDS rates.

More than half of these countries have reduced both maternal and child mortality at a faster rate since 2000 than they did during the decade from 1990 to 2000.

The report also indicated that the number of women who die each year from pregnancy or childbirth related complications dropped significantly from 543,000 in 1990 to 287,000 in 2000. Thirty of 75 Countdown countries showed reductions of 50 percent or more in their maternal mortality rates from 1990 to 2000.

However, nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa where HIV infections rates among women are typically high reported increases in maternal mortality over this period.