(2017) 1 African Human Rights Yearbook 85 MDG 5. The data showed that while the annual number of maternal deaths decreased by 43per cent from 532 000 in 1990 to approximately 303 000 in 2015, developing regions remained responsible for about 99 per cent of these deaths with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 66 per cent in 2015.14 Country-focused data also indicated that Nigeria alone accounted for 19 per cent of the world’s maternal deaths with approximately 58 000 deaths while Sierra Leone and Chad were the two countries with the highest estimated lifetime risk of maternal death at 1 in 17 and 1 in 18 respectively.15 With the end of the MDGs timeline in 2015, the global community’s unified shift from MDG 5 to the adoption of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 and 5, whose targets are to reduce the global MMR to less than 70 per 100 000 live births by 2030, and achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls,16 provide an exceptional second chance. It offers opportunity to intensify African governments’ efforts to reduce maternal mortality, with the assurance of international assistance and cooperation. To this end, this article analyses specific developments within the United Nations system that occurred within the same timeline as the African regional efforts, and which successfully catalysed the strengthening of norms and their practical application to reduce preventable maternal mortality, and draws key lessons from these approaches. 2 MATERNAL HEALTH AS A HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE: THE NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK Deaths during pregnancy and childbirth are avoidable and therefore should be viewed not only as a social injustice issue but also as human rights violations. Indeed, various human rights provisions in international and regional human rights instruments, such as the rights to life, health, information, education, personal liberty, freedom from discrimination, and freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, have been interpreted as relevant to addressing preventable maternal mortality and morbidity. This section of the paper considers some of these rights. 2.1 The right to health The enjoyment of the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health encompasses access to maternal health care services. This right, often referred to as the right to health, has been recognised in numerous international and regional human rights instruments with the most widely-recognised of these instruments 14 WHO (n 2 above). As above. 16 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, available at http://www.un.org/ sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/ (accessed 14 August 2017). 15