Time for the big day
Over half a million women die in pregnancy and childbirth each year, and nearly 11 million children do not reach their fifth birthday. This high mortality rate reflects the sad reality that the health of mothers and children is not a high priority for many governments and the international community.
For this reason, World Health Day 2005, on 7 April, is dedicated to maternal and child health, with the theme of "Make every mother and child count", which is also the subject of the World Health Report 2005.
To mark the occasion, WHO has launched "Great Expectations", a series of stories of pregnancy and childbirth told by six women from different countries around the world. In the third and latest episode, the six women - from Bolivia, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, the Lao People's Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - talk about the big day, when they give birth.
The documentaries also call attention to the pressing need to meet the Millennium Development Goals of reducing maternal deaths by three quarters, and reducing child mortality by two thirds by 2015.
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