Proportion of birth attended by a skilled health worker
2008 updates
It is recognized that in addition to a range of interventions before, during and after pregnancy, ensuring that all births are attended by a skilled health worker is a key strategy to reduce maternal deaths. On the basis of historical and observational evidence on the association between having a skilled health worker at delivery and reduced maternal mortality (Graham et al., 2001), the proportion of births attended by a skilled health worker, was selected as a proxy measure to monitor the progress towards the MDG 5 target of reducing maternal mortality.