Mr. Chair, I rise tonight to join my colleagues in speaking about the plight of the people in South Sudan. My speech will focus primarily on Canada's maternal, newborn, and child health programming and how that programming is helping the good people of South Sudan.
The humanitarian situation in South Sudan is of deep concern to Canada and to Canadians. The widespread fighting has taken a terrible toll. From 10,000 to 40,000 people have been killed, and more than one million have been forced out of their homes.
This crisis was triggered by a dispute between the president and his former vice-president and between ethnic Nuer and Dinka members of the presidential guard.
The plight of the South Sudanese people demands and deserves immediate attention, and that is why the Government of Canada recently announced nearly $25 million in additional funding. These funds will alleviate the humanitarian crisis with the provision of food, shelter, emergency medical care, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, and protection.
We need partners to help effectively, and so I applaud all of the international efforts and the spirit of co-operation that has emerged among donor nations in this particular instance.
As my hon. colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development, stated earlier in this House, Canada pays what it pledges, and we encourage our partners to do the same.
In addressing this urgent, high-profile crisis, we must not forget that South Sudan's instability is the result of more deep-rooted problems. A devastating civil war has shattered lives, institutions, and infrastructure. The lingering tensions among ethnic groups have threatened peace and security and advances in gender equality.
We must not lose sight of the long-term impact, as well. Canada is working to improve South Sudan's sustainable development, particularly through our leadership in maternal, newborn, and child health.
South Sudan's health system is weak. This is in part due to the devastation of decades of war but also due to the lack of public facilities and trained professionals. This means inadequate or non-existent services for mothers. According to the United Nations, a 15-year-old South Sudanese girl has a greater chance of dying from pregnancy-related causes than of finishing secondary school, and this begins a vicious circle. Mothers who do not have access to adequate nutrition or prenatal care are less likely to deliver healthy children. Children who do not get proper nutrition and vaccinations in their earliest years are less likely to become healthy and productive adults. The gateway to sustainable development begins here.
That is why maternal, newborn, and child health has been a priority in Canada since the Prime Minister co-led the Muskoka initiative in 2010. Maternal, newborn, and child health is Canada's leading development priority. Before the Prime Minister drew attention to this important issue, the world was falling short on reducing child mortality and curbing maternal death. Thanks to the Muskoka initiative and subsequent global action, maternal mortality rates are declining, and millions more children are celebrating their fifth birthdays.
Our common goal has not yet been reached, but it is within arm's reach. That is why the Prime Minister is once again taking action to mobilize the world. Canada will host the high-level summit in maternal, newborn, and child health from May 28-30, 2014, right here in our own country, in Toronto. Together we can eliminate preventable deaths among children, women, and newborns, and we can save millions of lives that hang in the balance.
Canada has a track record of results, because we have taken a pragmatic approach focused on results. South Sudan is one of Canada's priority Muskoka initiative countries.
Despite the interruptions and required adaptations, our investments are yielding results in South Sudan. These are crucial to the long-term stability and prosperity of the country.
Most of our programming is devoted to strengthening health systems and focuses on three primary areas: safer deliveries through improved emergency, obstetric, and newborn care; training of health workers, particularly midwives; and the provision of basic maternal, newborn, and child health services at primary health care facilities.
Several of the Canadian-supported initiatives deliver results in more than one of these areas. For example, in partnership with the World Health Organization, Canada funded the building of a new maternity ward in a state hospital in South Sudan. It is now fully operational. Wards in two other state hospitals will be completed in the coming weeks. Through this project, 1,113 women have delivered babies safely at one of the hospitals. This has created an increase of 27% in safe deliveries over the previous year. Over 200 hospital staff have received training in obstetrics and gynecology. This has improved their ability to provide emergency health services to women giving birth.
Canadian-supported initiatives have also made great progress in training and deploying midwives. Through the United Nations population fund, Canada committed $10.6 million to deploy 29 UN midwives from other countries to help facilities in all 10 states of South Sudan is becoming a reality. This will increase access to qualified midwives, reduce maternal and newborn deaths, and provide mentoring for South Sudanese midwifery students.
The results in the first year of this initiative are impressive. More than 33,000 pregnant women have received prenatal care. There have been more than 8,300 deliveries. There have been 525 health workers trained, and over 300 midwifery and nursing students have received clinical instruction and guidance.
Canada also committed $19 million to make four national health training institutes for midwifery and nursing in South Sudan operational. Currently over 200 midwifery and nursery students are enrolled and are studying at these institutes. The first group of 17 midwives and 13 nurses graduated in the summer of 2013. These midwives provide safe delivery, prenatal care, and clinical services, such as psychological counselling and medical examinations for survivors of rape.
In such a difficult environment, these successes are important to highlight. It is important to show results. It is important to remember that when we say maternal, newborn, and child health, we are talking about saving the lives of mothers and children.
Canada will continue working with our partners and supporting initiatives like the health pooled fund, a multi-donor fund that works with NGOs and county health departments to increase access to and quality of health services. This initiative targets children, pregnant women, and other vulnerable groups. Health service coverage is increasing through the support of the fund.
Canada is playing a leadership role in South Sudan and around the world when it comes to saving the lives of mothers and children. All Canadians can be proud of our government's record in this important area. Canadians should also be proud of the progress that has been achieved.
Naturally, the difficult environment makes it very difficult to achieve results in South Sudan. However, we are working closely with our partners already on the ground. We are continually reassessing risks, and we continue to adapt our programs to ensure that our investments deliver results for those in need.
Canada supports a peaceful resolution to the current conflict, one that will enable South Sudan to continue on its path to sustainable development.