Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Sudan concerning the proportion of births there attended by skilled health personnel; and what discussions they have had regarding Sudan’s maternal mortality ratio.

While we do not have specific health programmes in Sudan, we are greatly concerned at the levels of maternal mortality in Sudan, and regularly discuss these issues with the Government in the context of wider discussions about the delivery of basic services and poverty reduction. DFID is providing funding to UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), which will include data on the proportion of skilled health personnel who attend births, and on maternal mortality. The findings of that survey, which will report by the end of 2014, will inform our discussions with the Government of Sudan.