§ The Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn)Last week I published a strategy paper, "Reducing Maternal Deaths", setting out the evidence on what is needed to reduce maternal deaths in developing countries. The paper complements our recent position paper on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and DFID's target strategy papers on "Better Health for Poor People" and "Realising Human Rights for Poor People".
There is an urgent need to make faster progress towards the fifth millennium development goal of improving maternal health. Every year worldwide, more than 529,000 women die from complications in pregnancy and childbirth, all but 2,500 of them in developing countries. The UK is firmly committed to the target of reducing the maternal mortality ratio (the number of deaths per 100,000 live births) by three quarters by 2015, from a 1990 baseline. The health of the mother is inextricably linked to the health of her newborn child.
The paper sets out four priorities for DFID: increasing awareness and commitment to action, supporting partner countries to improve access to services, addressing wider barriers to maternal health, especially improving the status and rights of women, and generating and using new knowledge.
DFID is already supporting work in all these areas but will increase those efforts and encourage partners to do likewise. The strategy includes a commitment to increase year-on-year investment in maternal health.
I am placing a copy of the paper in the Library of the House. It is also available on DFID's website at www.dfid.gov. uk.