World leaders have called for a halt to the needless deaths of 10 million women and girls who die each generation during pregnancy and childbirth, and four million newborn babies who die every year.

This was the main resolve of the leaders that included 100 cabinet ministers and UN officials when they met at an anti-maternal mortality conference dubbed “Women Deliver” that held in London recently.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 16 (IPS) – In this 21st century, when medical science and gender empowerment are rising progressively, “no woman should die giving life”, declares Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA).

“It is unacceptable that one woman dies every minute during pregnancy and childbirth when proven interventions exist,” she adds. “Millions of lives are at stake, and we must act now.”