Maternal Death Surveillance and Response

An estimated 287 000 women worldwide died from pregnancy and its complications in 2010, 99%, of them in developing countries. The vast majority of such deaths are preventable. In 2012, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women passed a resolution calling for the elimination of preventable maternal mortality. To accomplish this, it is essential to have a system that measures and tracks all maternal deaths in real time, helps us understand the underlying factors contributing to the deaths, and stimulates and guides actions to prevent future deaths. Maternal Death Surveillance and Response (MDSR) is a model of such a system.