Maternal mortality in Ethiopia remains among the highest in the world (Hogan et al. 2010). Ethiopia is
among the six high burden countries for maternal death, along with Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic
the Congo (DRC), India, Nigeria and Pakistan, which collectively account for roughly 50 percent of all
maternal deaths worldwide. With a current estimate of 676 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, it is
unlikely that Ethiopia will achieve its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 target of reducing the
maternal mortality ratio by three quarters by 2015 (EDHS 2011, Hogan et al. 2010). The leading causes of
maternal death in Ethiopia are postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), unsafe abortion, infection, pregnancy related
hypertension, and obstructed labor (Koblinsky et al. 2010). Ensuring availability of modern contraceptives
and essential life-saving maternal/RH medicines is a major challenge in Ethiopia, where unmet need is very
high and funding for supplies is almost completely donor dependent (Morrison and Brundage 2012).