The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Douglas Alexander, the UK's Secretary of State for International Development called on leaders of the poorest countries, particularly those in Africa, to take women's health more seriously and put it at the heart of their decision-making, said DFID press release.

Announcing an additional £100 million over five years to help prevent unwanted pregnancies and make childbirth safer, Douglas said that more than 500,000 women die needlessly every year from complications during pregnancy and childbirth. It is estimated that every £1 million invested in family planning could avert 720,000 unwanted pregnancies, prevent 300,000 abortions and save the lives of 1,600 mothers and 22,000 infants.

Alexander spoke at the start of a three-day event in London, billed as the biggest conference on women's health in 20 years.

He said, "The death of a mother deprives a child, a family, a community and ultimately a country of one of its most valuable sources of health, happiness and prosperity. Every minute a woman dies from complications during pregnancy or childbirth. More than 10 million women, mostly in South Asia and Africa, have died in the last 20 years. This is a tragedy but is fact these deaths could have been prevented.""We need to ensure health services not only function, but also reflect the needs of women. Women must have a voice to demand better services and to vote for the MP who puts women's health at the top of the political agenda," he added.

The Women Deliver conference marks the anniversary of the Safe Motherhood initiative, launched in Kenya in 1987. More than 1,500 politicians, including ministers from Africa and Asia, human rights activists, NGOs, faith groups, health professionals and economists, from 75 countries attended the conference.

The £100 million will help the UN Population Fund to support governments in South Asia and Africa provide more condoms, contraceptives pills, and advice on better sexual health to poor women, girls and men. It is part of the UN's goal to improve the quality of national health care provided by governments in poorer countries. The announcement brings overall UK support for health in the developing world to £800 million a year and helps ensure promises made at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles are being kept.

In September, Gordon Brown, Douglas Alexander and ministers from developing countries launched the International Health Partnership. The initiative, to help build national health systems in some of the world's poorest countries, aims to improve the way donors and governments of poor countries work together to develop and implement national health plans.

In 1990, it was estimated 576,300 women died every year during pregnancy, labour or after giving birth. The latest figures show that by 2015, some 535,900 died - 40,400 lives saved. The UN's global target is to save the lives of at least 432,225 mothers by 2015, which is 75 per cent cut in the 1990 figure.

Reducing maternal mortality also remains a significant challenge in Bangladesh. The Health and Family Welfare Adviser, in his speech at a reception at British High Commission said, "MDG 5 must be a priority for the health sector in Bangladesh, and closely linked to that is MDG 4, which is focused on reducing child mortality. We must make these a priority for our efforts."