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International Health Partnership

I am grateful to those hon. Members who have attended for their constructive contributions to this important debate. I hope that the debate will produce real results, because we are talking about improving people's health and well-being and about saving the lives of millions of people across the world. I shall focus on the points that have been raised because they have been very useful in developing my argument and they allow me to say a bit more about the actions that the Government are taking. Clearly, we are all appalled by the awful levels of child and maternal mortality in the poorest countries and by the devastating impact of diseases such as AIDS and malaria. I am encouraged to find in the House a universal wish for the UK to continue to play a leading role in addressing the health crisis. I believe that people look to us to do that. Many agencies, Governments, organisations and individuals are doing great things, and we should welcome, support and applaud those efforts. Our job is to develop a way forward that allows us to maximise and see more of such efforts. Clearly, the crowded place in which aid is delivered is something that we must tackle, and the international health partnership is critical. The delivery of health care is a complex area and it is our duty to find the best way forward. Everyone would agree that finances are crucial. More money is always welcome, but we must look at how we use that money and at how we can achieve the results that we want, because results matter. Three of the eight millennium development goals are on health. They are off track, but we are not prepared to be complacent about that. I believe that the world can do more. Aid effectiveness is the key and that has been at the core of our discussions today. I assure hon. Members that addressing maternal health is a priority for the Government. Our strategy covers a range of factors. It is important to understand that it is about not just the delivery of health care, but enabling women to have access to family planning and safe abortion, and overcoming cultural and financial barriers to accessing care. It is about getting research to guide us so that we do the best that we can. We also need to ensure that women have greater access to midwives, doctors, and the correct, proper, skilled, sympathetic and empathetic health care workers to provide maternity and emergency care where it is needed. We expect all those things in this country, and they can make a difference. Achieving such goals is complex and requires much navigation and determination. I, like other hon. Members, welcome the International Development Committee report. It agrees that improving maternal health, which is millennium development goal 5, is one of the biggest challenges facing developing countries. I will ensure that we respond in full to that report and I look forward to doing so, not least so that I can explain why maternal health and the health care of women matter. It is very simple to me: if we are to see true development through which countries are able better to serve their people, that cannot be for half the people—that is just an impossibility. There is a very strong lobby on that, which I welcome. As constituency MPs, we should welcome the fact that our constituents have taken a great interest in the matter and are pushing us to do more.