Mr. Chair, when I was in South Sudan we took a flight from Juba to a city called Wau, which is about 200 kilometres south of the border between northern Sudan and South Sudan. In the area outside of the city we visited several of the projects that Canada has invested in. I saw these little girls, ages 12 to 14, who were carrying little ones on their hips. Because I thought it was not possible that they were mothers, I asked, “Is this your brother or sister?” These little girls looked at me with aghast eyes and said, “No, this is my baby”.
We know that very many young girls in South Sudan become pregnant at a very young age and we know the challenges it presents when there is no health care facility in the area and no one to provide guidance, whether for a difficult pregnancy or a challenging birth. Many of these young girls lose their lives because there is no assistance.
I wonder if my colleague could comment again on the value of what our focus on maternal, newborn, and child health is doing to help young girls in areas like South Sudan, outside the city of Wau, by helping them to have safe, live births for their babies and to have the health care they need.