The head of the United Nations Population Fund expressed hope Tuesday that Japan will provide funds for the agency's project to improve maternal medical care in Iraq, where the situation has been deteriorating under the U.S.-led occupation.

UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said that she is seeking some $20 million overall for building the maternal health system in the war-torn country and that she hopes Japan will contribute about a third of the amount.

"It is under negotiation, but we know that there is a commitment from the government of Japan to provide support for the reconstruction of Iraq," Obaid said at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo.

"It's a matter of how and where and so on, but we know it will be finalized."

Obaid said the UNFPA has intensified its humanitarian work in Iraq, and is working with other organizations to renovate maternal wards in hospitals and maternal centers, train medical personnel in the field and provide equipment and medical supplies.

She claimed the maternal mortality rate has nearly tripled from 117 per 100,000 live births in 1989 to 310 in 2002 due to sanctions, U.S.-led military operations and the occupation, with the main causes being maternal bleeding and obstructive labor.

There have also been recent increases in infant mortality and in the numbers of miscarriages, unsafe abortions and violence against women, said Obaid, who is on a five-day visit to Japan through Thursday.