Deprivations in well-being in terms of health status and access to health care are key dimension of poverty. Poor health can be both a cause and an effect of poverty: people living in poverty are less likely to have access to adequate health care and are more likely to suffer from illness and to die at younger age than those living above the poverty line. Vulnerable family can be pushed into poverty when a family member become ill and require costly medication and treatment. Prior to the crisis, considerable progress was being made towards attaining the health-related targets 23 of the Millennium Development Goal, but these target continue to pose a formidable challenge and are not expected to be met in many countries.
There is mixed evidence on progress attained in reducing maternal mortality. Progress towards reducing births among adolescent has slowed, and even been reversed in some case, but the urban to rural gap is growing in many countries.Progress towards satisfying women’s unmet need for contraception, an important mean of reducing unwanted birth and maternal mortality, has slowed in recent years.