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Niger has the highest lifetime risk of maternal mortality of any country in the world, 1 in 7. The comparable risk in the developed world is 1 in 8,000. Since 1990, the base year for the Millennium Development Goals, an estimated 10 million women have died from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth, and some 4 million newborns have died each year within the first 28 days of life. Advances in maternal and neonatal health have not matched those of child survival, which registered a 27 per cent reduction in the global under-five mortality rate between 1990 and 2007.

This report is based on a series of 15 international case studies conducted between September and November 2008 under a joint initiative of FAO and the PISCES Energy Research Programme Consortium funded by DFID. The case studies focussed on developing an improved understanding of the linkages between Livelihoods and Small-Scale Bioenergy Initiatives. The study was developed in consultation with the PISCES Consortium Advisory Group (CAG). This is made up of leading international participants in the field of energy and development, including members from the IEA,