Maternal mortality rate has come down to 141 per 100,000 live births in the slum areas of six city corporations whereas the MDG target was 143 by 2010.  Moreover, infant mortality rate has also come miraculously down to 13 per 1000 live births as against the MDG target of 25 for the same period.

This was disclosed at a special meeting held on 29 January, 2011 to present evidences of impact of a community based health initiative undertaken by BRAC in 2007 with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The major lesson of the 4-year intervention is that maternal and neonatal mortality could be reduced promptly if skilled birth attendance and comprehensive emergency obstetric care are ensured. The initiative has also been able to achieve increased hospital deliveries with a major decline in home births from 86% to 20% in the intervention areas.