Hard-won success in efforts to stop women and babies dying in childbirth have faced a serious setback with recent cuts to foreign aid - with the trend now reversing in some countries, new figures show.
Maternal mortality is particularly acute in parts of Africa, and is already playing out in the Central African Republic, which has the second highest rate of neonatal deaths globally, according to the UN.
Busayna, 25, who fled massacres in Darfur on foot after militants murdered her husband, told The Independent she nearly died a few months ago while giving birth to her fifth child. She had no money or food and she had to walk to the nearest clinic while in labour.
On International Mothers’ Day, chief international correspondent Bel Trew reports from the Central African Republic, while Nick Ferris in London examines the data.
