Maternal Mortality
A key target for the 2Ist century is to reduce maternal
mortality rates by three-quarters. This is a huge challenge. DFID's four-point
plan for safer motherhood ensures that:
· women have
sufficient information to make sound decisions about their health before and
during pregnancy;
· good quality services are
provided and accessible at all times;
· women in need and their carers
can call for help and access services when necessary;
· the safety of motherhood is
properly monitored and appropriate action taken as a result of the information
obtained.
We are supporting work to implement this plan, with new
initiatives now underway in Kenya, Malawi, and Nepal.
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Women and health
Nowhere are the obstacles faced by women to health - and the
inequalities faced by poor women -revealed more starkly than in the figures for
maternal mortality. The tragedy and indecency is that we know the major causes
of maternal mortality, and the kind of care that pregnant women need when things
go wrong. Without better access to improved basic obstetric care for those who
need it, women will continue to die in pregnancy and childbirth. We must do
better. These are not principally matters of science. They are matter of
political and moral choice and will
Clare Short, Secretary of State for International
Development. Speech on World Population Day, 1997. |
