A U.N. representative says more women in India die during
pregnancy or childbirth than in any other country in the world.
The U.N. official says India must improve its public health
system to cut the rate of maternal mortality. From New Delhi,
Anjana Pasricha has this report. India accounts for 20 percent
of the world's maternal deaths, with a woman dying every five
minutes. The U.N.'s Paul Hunt says the rate of maternal deaths
is "shocking" for a middle income country, and many times higher
than in other countries. "Why is the Indian rate six times worse
than China's, eight times worse than Cuba's, whose people have
been living under an embargo for some decades? And why is it 14
times worse than Chile's?" he said. Hunt spoke to reporters in
New Delhi after visiting two states, Rajasthan and Maharashtra,
to assess the state of maternal health in India. He says the
government has taken steps to reduce maternal mortality, and the
numbers are declining, but still remain "alarming." The U.N.
official says one of