Alok Sharma: “We will end preventable deaths of mothers, new-born babies and children in the developing world by 2030”

A
commitment has been made to prioritise ending preventable deaths of mothers,
new-born babies and children in the developing world by 2030.

This
Conservative Government will step up its efforts to ensure this target is met,
investing in more vaccines for deadly diseases, prioritising access to
healthcare for women and girls around the world, and investing in research to
diagnose and treat diseases more quickly and effectively.

Every
day, over 800 women lose their lives from causes related to pregnancy and
childbirth and around 7,000 new-born babies die. The majority of these deaths
are in the developing world and are preventable.

Significant
progress has been made to reduce these unnecessary deaths over the last 30
years.  But we still fall short of a world where every pregnancy is
wanted, every childbirth is safe and every child lives a healthy life.

International
Development Secretary, Alok Sharma, said:

“Every
11 seconds, a pregnant woman or new-born baby dies somewhere in the world.
These deaths are mostly preventable, and we should not allow this needless loss
of life to continue.

“We
will boost our support for developing countries to ensure everyone has access
to healthcare. We will invest more in vaccines and research so developing
countries benefit from the very best of British and international expertise.
And we will put sexual and reproductive health and rights for all women and
girls at the heart of this commitment.”

“Everyone
in the world deserves to be able to access the healthcare they need to live a
healthy life.”

This
commitment follows the announcement of a £600 million aid package to give
millions more women and girls living in the world’s poorest countries access to
family planning. 

ENDS