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Press Release

14 March 2007

Benn calls for developing world politicians to end needless deaths of pregnant women

Pregnant mother and children in India Hilary Benn, International Development Secretary, today called on politicians from the developing world to use their influence to reduce the unacceptable number of women dying in pregnancy or childbirth.

Speaking at a meeting of women parliamentarians from developing countries on 'Maternal and Newborn Health and Survival’ at a World Health Organisation event today, Hilary Benn said:

"A family without a mother is more likely to live in poverty and her children unable to attend school. A newborn child whose mother has died has a much lower survival rate - over 4 million newborns die within their first month of life. A woman who has HIV/ AIDS is four to five times more likely to die in during or immediately after childbirth. We must ensure that women and their babies have the chance of life that they deserve.

"No matter how much expertise exists, without the political will to improve health care, women and babies will continue to die in their millions throughout the developing world. There is no greater symbol of discrimination against women than the continued deaths of women in childbirth when we have the knowledge – and the power – to prevent them.

"It was politics that helped bring about the professionalisation of midwifery in the UK in the 19th century and the same political process can help to save lives of women and babies in some of the poorest countries in the world today. Parliamentarians can do things that will directly save lives – like supporting the training of more medical professionals and improving women’s access to clinics."

Did you know that?

Every year more than half a million women die due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth. This is the same as one woman dying every minute.
When a mother dies, the chances of her newborn surviving are much lower. Every year more than 4 million newborn babies die within their first month of life.
99% of maternal deaths take place in developing countries.
The highest absolute number of maternal deaths takes place in Asia with 253,000 women dying every year during pregnancy or childbirth.
But you are much more likely to die in childbirth or during pregnancy as an African woman – women in Sierra Leone have a one in six chance of dying during their lifetime; that is 600 times that of a woman in the UK.
Maternal death is the leading cause of death for girls aged 15-19 in the developing world - they are twice as likely to die in childbirth as women in their twenties.

The risk of dying in childbirth is four-five times higher in women who are HIV infected.
Each year, 600,000 children are born HIV positive because women have neither been able to access condoms or contraception, nor access the drugs that will prevent the transmission of the HIV to the unborn child and help the mother survive.
200 million women wanting to control their fertility still do not have access to modern contraception.
US $1 million invested in family planning could avert 360,000 unwanted pregnancies, prevent 150,000 induced abortions and save the lives of 800 mothers and 11,000 infants.
Sixty eight thousand women die every year from unsafe abortion and millions more suffer from complications.
Having someone who is trained to deliver children is essential to reducing maternal mortality rates. In Bangladesh only 14% of births are attended by a skilled birth attendant.
In India, deaths due to domestic violence were the second largest cause of death in pregnancy (16%).
An estimated 130 million women and girls around the world have undergone female genital mutilation. Every year, another 3 million girls are subjected to this procedure, some of whom die as a result.
At least 2 million women in Africa, Asia and the Arab region are living with fistula, and some 50,000 to 100,000 new cases develop each year.
Sub-Saharan Africa has 11% of the world’s population, 24% of the global burden of disease but only 3% of the world’s health workers.

How your taxes are helping to improve the lives of women around the world…

In Pakistan DFID has committed up to £90 million over 5 years for a new National Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Programme which will expand maternal and newborn care and support family planning services. This will support more rural women to become skilled birth attendants and be able to provide high quality maternity services.
In Zimbabwe DFID will invest £25 million pounds over 5 years in to a project aiming to reduce the number of maternal deaths and the number of children becoming infected or dying from HIV infection. This programme will increase access to contraception and help prevent HIV infection in women and their partners before they become pregnant. For HIV positive pregnant women, drugs will be provided to prevent the virus being passed onto the baby.
In Burundi DFID is supporting the Ministry of Health with £3 million which will be used to supply essential drugs for children under 5 and also to improve antenatal and child delivery services.
In Nepal the Ministry of Health is working to reduce the problems that women have with accessing obstetric care due to transport and drug costs. DFID has provided £11 million to a government programme that pays skilled birth attendants and also gives women cash to help meet drug and transport costs so that they can access health facilities for a safe birth. DFID support to the political process has enabled the legalisation of abortion and a rapid increase of access to safe abortion services and contraception.
If Bangladesh continues to sustain current progress, MDG 5 will be reached by 2015. Approximately £25 million (one fifth) of DFID’s annual budget in Bangladesh goes directly to the health sector, with a proportion of this money guaranteed to go towards improving maternal health. Long-term political and financial support to increase access to family planning has been central to reducing maternal deaths over the past two decades.

Notes for editors

1. DFID’s second annual Maternal Health Progress Report which examines the global efforts, led by DFID, to achieve the maternal health Millennium Development Goals is being published later this month.

2. The Millennium Development Goal on maternal and child health cannot be achieved independently of one another. DFID has increased its bilateral expenditure on improving maternal health by 34 per cent over the last three years to £198 million.

3. In the countries we work with, DFID supports maternal and child health by strengthening health services to improve access and quality, girls’ education and advocating the importance of addressing maternal health within national development and poverty reduction strategies.

4. The Maternal and Newborn Health and Survival conference is co-organised by the World Health Organisation, The Commonwealth Secretariat, The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and is hosted by Sally Keeble MP. It is a two day conference starting at 13:30 on Tuesday 13 March and ending at 17:15 on Wednesday 14 March.

For further information, contact DFID Press Office on 020 7023 0600, e-mail pressoffice@dfid.gov.uk or call our Public Enquiries Point on 0845 300 4100.