No other health disparity is so stark; virtually every woman who dies giving birth lives in a poor country.

We should work to guarantee that there is a midwife or health worker by every woman's side during childbirth.

Creative new health strategies like micro-insurance for poor people or Kangaroo care for pre-term babies are transforming health outcomes in even the most low-resource settings. Dedication and innovation are transforming health care worldwide.

President Obama has made maternal health one of the core priorities of U.S. international aid funding.

Midwives and doctors play a crucial role preventing unnecessary maternal deaths. They educate women about nutrition, health and family planning. And they step in when complications arise.

Investing in women's lives is an investment in sustainable development, in human rights, in future generations - and consequently in our own long-term national interests.