Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the planned reduction of Official Development Assistance on the number of women at risk of preventable death in pregnancy and childbirth.

Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations and the impact on programmes are being worked through, following the decision to reduce UK ODA from 0.5 per cent or gross national income to 0.3 per cent in 2027. We will be taking a rigorous approach to ensure that all ODA delivers value for money, including by considering the impact on women and girls in accordance with the public sector equality duty.

The UK remains unequivocally committed to supporting global efforts to end preventable maternal, child, and newborn deaths in line with Sustainable Development Goal targets. This month the UK delegation to the UN Commission on Population and Development committed to protect and progress sexual and reproductive health and rights, including maternal and newborn health by cosponsoring the launch of the Global Midwifery Accelerator. The UK continues to work closely with partners and provides strong political leadership on maternal health, to end preventable deaths.