Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in particular in the province of Kasai, in order (1) to strengthen its health system, and (2) to reduce the frequency of preventable deaths of mothers and children.

The UK has supported the health sector in Kasai province since 2013. Minister Mitchell visited the UK's bilateral health programme in Kasai on March 19. The programme supports implementation of The Democratic Republic of the Congo's policy on Universal Health Coverage by strengthening pillars of the national health system and increasing access to lifesaving reproductive, maternal and child health services (including nutrition and family planning).

From 2017 to 2022 UK supported provinces increased childhood immunisation coverage from 63 percent to 90 percent, and the proportion of births attended by a skilled attendant from 83 percent to 99 percent. The prevalence of child malnutrition was halved over the same period.