Ethiopia is one of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa with markedly high maternal
mortality ratio. The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in the country has stagnated at
676 per 100,000 live births after declining from 871 per 100,000 live births in 2000 to
673 in 2005. Efforts to reduce maternal mortality should focus on reducing the likelihood
that a woman will have a high risk pregnancy; reducing the likelihood that a pregnant
woman will experience a serious complication of pregnancy or childbirth and improving the
outcomes for women with complications. Ethiopia’s Health Sector Development Program
(HSDP) acknowledges the importance of increasing access to high quality antenatal and
post-abortion care, strengthening reproductive health care and family planning, increasing
access to skilled delivery care, and providing education about family planning are key areas
of interest in order to bring down the high maternal mortality in the country.