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The number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth is increasing in some nations, the health ministers from around the world say at the UN Population Fund meeting.

According to the findings of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) meeting held this week in Addis Ababa, every minute, a woman dies in childbirth.

In the high-level meeting of over 150 health ministers, childbirth was reported to be responsible for a greater number of female deaths when compared to events such as war.

Lack of properly trained midwives and the long distance between certain rural areas and health centers are among the main reasons contributing to serious complications and even death in pregnant women.

Health ministers concluded that family planning is the most cost-effective way to tackle the problem, adding that more investment in primary and emergency healthcare is needed.

They urged governments to adopt precautionary measures to reduce the number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth, estimating that some $5.5 to $6.1 billion additional funding would be needed by 2015 to accomplish the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5, which aims to improve maternal health.