Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the maternal mortality rate in Bangladesh.

The FCDO's 'Better Health in Bangladesh Programme' provides financial and technical assistance to the Government of Bangladesh's national health sector programme. The programme helps to ensure that women have access to safe maternal care in Bangladesh through interventions including post abortion care, midwifery training, and technical assistance to strengthen Bangladesh's health system. It also aims to combat issues related to sexual and reproductive health and rights, and ending preventable deaths of mothers and new-borns. In targeted districts of Bangladesh, the FCDO tests new methods of basic emergency obstetric care. The programme also provides technical health assistance to improve quality midwifery education in Bangladesh. The programme has helped deliver over 85,000 babies, provided 818,000 people family planning services, and screened over 630,000 women for cervical cancer.