Yemen: Safe Motherhood Program

Yemen has a ratio of 570 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births (according to 2000 estimates), with only 27 percent of births attended by skilled birth attendants, as well as a high fertility rate (average of seven children per woman). Poor women often go through pregnancy and deliver at home without seeking any medical care, due to factors such as poor access to quality health services, distrust of healthcare providers, lack of female doctors, and the price of care.This GPOBA program seeks to address some of the barriers to safe motherhood by improving healthcare services and working with poor communities to increase use of these services. The project closed before completion of the project due to political and security environment in Yemen. The World Bank suspended disbursements under the Yemen portfolio effective July 28, 2011. 

SOUL website project description