Over 60 percent of those attacks were deemed intentional.

Countries are catching on to the demographic dividends that come with robust family planning programs, which can help turn a low-income country into a middle-income country. In fact, for less than the cost of a cheeseburger per American per year, we could reduce the world's population growth by 500 million, saving mothers' and children's lives everywhere and helping poor countries prosper like never before. So what's the holdup? And who's being left behind?

When people become ill, sometimes they need medicine or certain supplies. Sometimes they need a hospital stay or an operation. Other times they simply need bed rest. But there's one thing that's needed by everyone, everywhere: good care.

Growing up in Senegal, I lived in what we in the global health community might call a "pronatalist" environment -- meaning that women and communities prefer large families. Contraception was, and often still is, difficult to come by, and many women die as a result of childbirth complications (289,000 per year worldwide, in fact).

Our goal is to help the Liberian government overcome the epidemic and resume strengthening the national health system so it can swiftly contain the next public health crisis.