News coverage on maternal and child mortality continues, following the release of several reports this week.

Devex: Niger’s persistent problem
“Niger, a poor landlocked country in sub-Saharan Africa, has ranked a total of nine times at the bottom of Save the Children’s annual Mothers’ Index since the launch of the survey in 2000. This year is a bit different, though there’s still not much to celebrate…” (Ravelo, 5/6).

GlobalPost: How humanitarian crises impact maternal and child health
“It’s not often that you see the United States grouped together with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, and the Philippines — particularly when it comes to health care. But in the 2014 Save the Children’s State of the World’s Mothers report, published Monday, those four countries were the featured subjects of an in-depth look at how humanitarian crises are negatively impacting maternal and child health…” (Miley, 5/6).

PBS NewsHour: Maternal deaths down in Afghanistan with help from community workers
“One of the bright spots in Save the Children’s 15th annual ranking of the best and worst countries to be a mother, released Monday, is the progress Afghanistan has made in the area of maternal health…” (Epatko, 5/6).

Reuters: U.S. backslides in maternal deaths, bucking global trend
“American women are more likely to die in childbirth than they were two decades ago, making the United States one of the few countries where the risks from childbirth have risen in the past generation, World Health Organization data showed on Tuesday…” (Miles, 5/6).

Thomson Reuters Foundation: Ethiopia most successful in Africa at cutting maternal deaths — NGO
“Pregnancy-related deaths in Ethiopia have fallen by nearly two-thirds, making it the African country that has most successfully lowered its maternal mortality rate thanks to its lifesaving investment in female health workers and girls’ education, Save the Children said on Tuesday…” (Migiro, 5/6).

U.N. News Centre: Maternal death rates fall but chronic diseases increase pregnancy risk — U.N. agency
“Rates of maternal deaths are down, according to United Nations figures released today, but pre-existing medical conditions heighten the risk of death for pregnant women and require continued investment in quality care during pregnancy and childbirth…” (5/6).

VOA News: WHO Study Reports Fewer Childbirth Deaths
“A new World Health Organization study finds maternal deaths due to complications in pregnancy and childbirth have been cut nearly in half over the past 24 years. But WHO says most countries will not meet the 2015 Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal deaths by two-thirds…” (Schlein, 5/6).

Wall Street Journal: Disasters Could Dent Progress for Moms, Babies in the Philippines
“Frequent and increasingly severe natural disasters are testing the Philippines’ ability to improve conditions for mothers and children and could erode recent gains in maternal health, says a report by international charity Save the Children…” (Schonhardt, 5/6).