The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists International Office (RCOG IO) welcomes the Coalition’s Government’s announcement today about international development aid to the world’s poorest countries. We are also pleased to see comments made by the Prime Minister in the Guardian that the process of giving is to be made more transparent so that money is channelled to those they were intended for. In order for aid programmes to be effective, strict governance and careful audit are required so that UK taxpayers know they are getting value for money.
The RCOG IO is delighted that the new government recognises the crucial role of women in under-resourced countries and the association between healthy women and healthy societies. The investment required to improve women’s health in under-resourced countries is small, in comparison to other programmes. Modest projects such as those focusing on the training of skilled birth attendants in basic emergency obstetric skills will help lower the maternal morbidity and mortality rates in rural communities, often resulting other long-term benefits such as better infant mortality, more stable social structures and increased economic productivity.
The RCOG IO has a long-established tradition of helping under-resourced countries in the sharing of its expertise and through capacity-building projects. It has strong connections with its international representative groups and the Department for International Development (DFID) has much to gain from a strong partnership.
Indeed, the RCOG was founded in 1929 as the British College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists by Professor William Blair-Bell and Sir William Fletcher Shaw at a time when the maternal mortality rate in the UK was as high as it is now in some under-resourced countries. With the professionalisation of the specialty through a structured medical training programme, the development of clinical standards and the assessment of maternity services, activities that the founders of the College worked tirelessly in, the maternal mortality rate soon improved. It is the RCOG’s hope that this model will find its way to other healthcare systems so that childbirth is safe and mothers and their babies are healthy.
The RCOG IO and its partner, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, will continue to work with DFID to deliver educational programmes in under-resourced countries so that the Millennium Development Goals, specifically MDGs 4 and 5, are achieved.
RCOG Vice President (International) and incoming President Dr Anthony Falconer said “DFID’s plans to use new technologies are innovative and there are several schemes underway which have proven to be successful. We welcome the practical solutions placed on the table and support the move towards raising professional standards in under-resourced settings.
“We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with DFID to improve maternal health and alleviate needless suffering in under-resourced countries.”
4 June 2010
Notes
Read Prime Minister David Cameron’s commentary ‘Our aid will hit in spot’ in the Guardian (3 June 2010) here.
To view the DFID press release announcing a £5m fund to help train healthcare workers, click here.
To read more about the RCOG’s international initiatives and activities, please click here.