Maternal mortality plunged from around 90 deaths per 100 000 live births in 1990 to around 13 deaths in 2015, while infant mortality declined from 45 deaths per 1 000 live births to 9 deaths over the same period. However, as with other indicators, national level data on infant and maternal mortality belie marked regional disparities. In some regions of the country maternal mortality has actually been increasing over the past ten years, by nearly 40% since 2005 in the Akmola and Karaganda regions, and in Kyzylorda region by more than 30% between 2010 and 20152. However after several waves of reforms most regulatory and financing functions have again been centralised.