'No woman should risk life to give life': Queen Mary's impassioned speech on solo overseas visit to Africa
By Karishma Sarkari|
Queen Mary made a solo overseas trip to Africa this week, the Danish royal household revealed on Thursday.
They shared photos on social media of the two-day trip to Abuja, Nigeria, revealing the colourful outfits worn by the Australian-born royal as well as the heartfelt reason for the trip.
"No woman should risk life to give life," Queen Mary said in an impassioned speech at the launch of the 10 Million Safer Births global initiative.
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"No woman should die giving birth when it is preventable. Unfortunately, this is not the reality," she added.
"Every other minute, a woman dies due to causes related to pregnancy or childbirth. Every fourteen seconds, a newborn suffers the same fate.
"These numbers are a human tragedy and demand action."
The mother-of-four, whose eldest son Crown Prince Christian is 19, said she'd been following the "global evolution of maternal mortality" for almost 20 years.
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Queen Mary, who is patron of UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, led the official visit as she arrived in the populous African nation on Tuesday.
On arrival the Danish contingent were received by the President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Nigeria's First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, for a meeting at the Presidential Villa.
For her daytime look, Queen Mary wore a eye-catching Paul & Joe floral-printed midi skirt which she paired with a vibrant red wrap shirt by Danish designer Jesper Høvring.
In the evening, the 53-year-old changed into a black paisley print dress with a handkerchief hemline by Altuzarra.
Her Majesty kicked off the evening reception with business representatives, diplomats and government officials, by giving her impassioned speech.
On Wednesday, day two of the official visit, Queen Mary visited a maternity ward at Maitama District Hospital in Abuja and spoke with new mums.
The mum-of-four also appeared to coo over some of the newborns before giving another speech on the global initiative, aiming to give "up 10 million women access to safer childbirth by the end of 2030 across sub-Saharan Africa".
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Queen Mary left King Frederik at home for the trip, travelling instead with Christina Egelund, Denmark's Minister of Education and Research.
While his wife was overseas, King Frederik took part in the Royal Lifeguard anniversary parade at Livgardens Kaserne in Copenhagen today.
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