UK aid has helped reduce maternal mortality in Bangladesh and Nepal by 40%

Investment by the UK government to improve access to sex education, skilled birth attendants, family planning, and abortion services in Bangladesh and Nepal has helped to reduce the number of women dying from complications during pregnancy and childbirth by more than 40%, says a new report.

The report, by the UK Department for International Development, says that the number of maternal deaths in Bangladesh fell by 44% in 17 years, from 574 per 100 000 live births in 1990 to 320 in 2007. Between 2003 and 2006 the percentage of …