In sub-Saharan Africa, one in every 16 women will die in pregnancy or childbirth. In Afghanistan and Sierra Leone, pregnancy and birth complications kill one in every six women. To take on the millions of maternal deaths worldwide, the UN is backing a landmark global conference set to take place in London this October.

At Women Deliver, more than 2,000 people will come together to strategize new ways to save women's lives and tackle other issues that impede women's access to care such as poverty.

Delegates from more than 75 countries will include cabinet ministers, heads of United Nations and other multilateral agencies, senior government officials, health professionals, researchers, economists, and reproductive health advocates.

"Every minute of every day a woman dies needlessly during pregnancy and childbirth," said conference Honorary Chair Mary Robinson, President of Realizing Rights and former President of Ireland. "That’s ten million women in every generation. Most of these deaths are in the developing world, and most are preventable."

To find out more about Women Deliver, click here.

For more facts on maternal health, click here.