Kenya's maternal and infant mortality rates are among the highest in the world. One out of every 20 women is likely to die during child delivery, said Dr Metin Gulmezoglu, a scientist based at the World Health Organisation headquarters in Geneva. This compares unfavourably to one in every 1100 women in most countries in Europe, he said, adding: "The risk of a woman dying before or during child birth is 200 times more in Kenyan than is the case in Europe."