Experts from the World Health Organisation and the African Union are scheduled to meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in April, to discuss how countries in Africa can decrease maternal and newborn mortality rates, the highest in the world. According to WHO regional director Ebrahim Samba, the maternal mortality ratio in Africa has increased from 870 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 1,000 deaths in 2001.