The UN Millennium Development Goals accelerated a decline in child and maternal deaths on a global scale after being adopted in 2000.
Researchers found that child mortality rates have dropped by almost half since 1990, while maternal mortality rates have dropped by almost a quarter in progress towards the targets for 2015.
Maternal education, income growth and drug innovation largely account for the dramatic decline in deaths.
If trends continue, infant mortality will fall from six million in 2013 to less than four million in 2030.
Read more at Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington