In pictures: Tackling maternal mortality

Mothers and children wait for a health check in the Central African Republic. Only 14% of mothers from poor families get help from midwives when they give birth.

The delivery room at a health centre in Baoro, Central African Republic. The centre is the only health facility for a population of 39,000.

A mother and child in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 1,000 mothers die here per 100,000 live births, according to Unicef. (Picture: Kate Eshelby)

Midwives are making a difference in Afghanistan, though the country still has one of the world's highest maternal mortality rates. This picture shows Merlin's midwife training school in Takhar province.

In February, Merlin sent a medical team to a remote area of Badakhshan, in Afghanistan, to tackle a pneumonia epidemic. Three pregnant women suffering from severe bleeding were also treated.