HC Deb 10 March 1999 vol 327 cc356-7
7. Barbara Follett (Stevenage)

What measures her Department is taking to help reduce maternal mortality in the developing world. [73835]

The Secretary of State for International Development (Clare Short)

Pregnancy remains a life-threatening condition for millions of women in poor countries. The injury and loss of life is a tragedy for the women concerned, and usually results in desperate poverty for their children. It will be very tough to meet the internationally agreed target of reducing maternal mortality by 75 per cent. by 2015. We are working to reduce maternal death and injury in our programmes in around 20 countries; we are also collaborating with the World Health Organisation, the World bank and other United Nations agencies to strengthen the international effort.

Barbara Follett

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the United States is currently unable to meet its obligations to the United Nations because of internal resistance to UN family planning programmes? The equivalent of four jumbo jet loads of women are dying from pregnancy-related causes in the developing world every day of every year. Will my right hon. Friend do all that she can to break the deadlock?

Clare Short

It is certainly worrying that the greatest power in the world is not paying its dues to the UN system, at a time of globalisation when we need a stronger and more effective United Nations. As my hon. Friend will know, President Clinton has tried to persuade Congress to pay those dues. I feel that we must do all in our power to back him, because we need the UN backed by the United States of America.

Mr. Andrew Rowe (Faversham and Mid-Kent)

Does the Secretary of State agree that, in many of the countries that we are discussing, a number of the threats to maternal health stem from religious and cultural taboos? Will she assure me that her Department is working with theologians throughout the world—especially Islamic theologians—to ensure that the Koran, which is actually a very women-friendly gospel, is interpreted as such in many countries where the oppression of women causes a good deal of maternal mortality?

Clare Short

I agree with the hon. Gentleman that nothing in the teaching of Islam says that women should be second-class citizens, or justifies anything like female genital mutilation. There is no question about that; all Islamic scholars will tell us that.

The problems of women throughout the world are the result not only of prejudice under Islam—often, there is simply neglect in basic health services—but I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we are challenging all such prejudice, including that of some of the fundamentalist Churches in the United States, which call themselves Christian. [Interruption.]

Madam Speaker

Order. The House must come to order.