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International Development Minister Stephen O鈥橞rien MP yesterday attended the聽Women鈥檚 Institute鈥檚 Women Reaching Women Project Conference.聽聽He spoke to Women鈥檚 Institute聽(WI) members and delegates about the government鈥檚 continuing work to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and reaffirm the government鈥檚 commitments on maternal health.

He said:

鈥淚t is a disgrace that one of the most dangerous things a woman in the developing world can do today is get pregnant. That is why the Coalition Government is making maternal health one of our top priorities in our international development work.

鈥淭he British Government will make sure that women in the poorest countries are able to give birth safely with trained medical staff.

鈥淏y 2015, we pledge to support at least 2 million more safe deliveries in the world鈥檚 poorest countries and we are working hard to improve access to quality maternity services in the developing world.

鈥淭he support of organisations such as the Women鈥檚 Institute is vital in helping us to achieve the best results for mothers across the world.鈥�

The Women Reaching Women Project Conference celebrates three years of WI members learning how communities in the UK and internationally can be engaged on the issue of gender equality and development, particularly in relation to the Millennium Development Goals.聽 WI members had the opportunity to hear from women who lead development efforts around the world and learn more about international efforts to reduce poverty and gender inequality and promote development, and shared lessons and insights from the project on best practice in public engagement.