Last month, Secretary Clinton commended the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for its $1.5 billion contribution toward women's and children's health, saying, "Focusing on women is not only the right thing to do, but it is also the smart thing to do, because investing in the health of women also improves the health of their families and communities."

I expect Clinton would thus be intrigued by a program in India that aims to reduce maternal morality by providing $30 cash incentives to poor women to give birth in hospitals, and not on the dirt floors of thatched-roof homes.

Why would any woman need to essentially be paid to give birth at a hospital, where the chances of death are much lower? Turns out, getting to a hospital is not so easy, for a variety of reasons. Last week's Washington Post article about the program mentions one rural woman for whom it would cost $4 to take a taxi to the hospital -- a long of money in a poor farming community where the $30 incentive is about three weeks of a family's pay. 

The hurdles aren't just economic, but also related to education, class divisions, and patriarchy. The articles says lack of education means a lot of people don't fully appreciate that medical care in a hospital setting can mean the difference between a happy, healthy mom -- and a dead one.

Also, in a society with sharp caste and class divisions, many poor, illiterate mothers-to-be don't have the assertiveness to set foot in the hospital, according to the article. Perhaps if you're from a marginalized, look-down-upon caste or social class, going to a relatively modern and clean hospital can be intimidating. One woman told the Post, "Before this [program], we didn't have a hint of what to do.… The hospital was very confusing. We weren't sure who to talk to or what we needed."  Another woman in the article said she was scared to go to the hospital.

The article also mentioned the patriarchal culture, stating that in rural India, many poor husbands don't let their pregnant wives to go to the hospital.

But money talks -- including in Indian languages. In Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, two of India's poorest states, the percentage of women delivering in medical facilities more than doubled from less than 20 percent in 2005 to almost 50 percent in 2008. Physicians say that's due to the incentive program.

India still has a long way to go on maternal mortality -- its rate of maternal mortality is around 10 times China's rate. Women's education and economic development are the long-term fix to the problem, but until then, it's the lure of $30.

Speaking at the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue, Secretary Clinton sought to reassure Indians that the United States doesn't see India merely in the context of Pakistan or Afghanistan. She said at the plenary session:

"[W]e must not only build on areas of agreement but, frankly, address doubts that remain on both sides, doubts among some Indians that the United States only sees India or mainly sees India in the context of Afghanistan and Pakistan, or that we will hasten our departure from Afghanistan, leaving India to deal with the aftermath."*

But how true is it that the United States doesn't see India primarily through the context of Pakistan and Afghanistan? It seems like the United States wants India and Pakistan to resolve their dispute ASAP so that Pakistan can concentrate more on its western border with Afghanistan.

*This quote was updated from a previous version from NDTV that had transcription errors.

Secretary is en route to Russia right now to discuss the new START treaty and meet with the diplomatic "quartet" on Middle East peace. Meanwhile, here are some recent Clinton headlines.

MIDDLE EAST: 

•"With subtle shift in nuance, Hillary Clinton reiterates U.S. stance on Israel" (Washington Post)

•"Clinton to call Netanyahu soon amid row" (Agence France-Presse)

•"Foreign minister: 'Not reasonable' to stop building in East Jerusalem" (CNN)

•"Mrs. Clinton's hissy fit" (Washington Times)

INDIA:

•"Nirupama Rao briefs US on talks with Pakistan" (Indo-Asian News Service)

•"Pakistan, Afghanistan high in Rao's talks in US" (Indo-Asian News Service)

JAPAN:

•"Clinton, Okada to meet in Washington or Canada in late March" (Associated Press)

•"Okada unlikely to present Clinton with Japan's plan on Futemma" (Associated Press)

IRAQ/WOMEN: 

•"Clinton looks forward to an inclusive Iraqi government" (Kuwait News Agency)

•Yesterday, Clinton met with 22 female Iraqi provincial council leaders. Her remarks are here.

A few tidbits of Hillary-in-Africa news, the first a lighthearted piece:

•Referring to a Kenyan man's offer of 40 goats and 20 cows for Chelsea as his bride, Clinton said she would convey the "very kind offer" to her "very independent" daughter.

•Clinton meets with Somalia's president in Nairobi, Kenya, today.

•Clinton hailed India as a model of democracy for Africa, saying that the country's 1 billion-plus people "have figured out how to run an election where the results can be surprising and unpredicted but accepted." For more about elections in the world's biggest democracy, check out the FP photo essay, "The World's Biggest Election."

•Clinton said it's a "great regret" that the United States is not part of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Her husband Bill had signed the ICC treaty, but Congress never ratified it and Bush didn't care for joining.

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Chairman of Indian conglomerate TATA group, Ratan Tata, left, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, right, share a light moment during a meeting with Indian business leaders in Mumbai on July 18. Clinton arrived in India hoping to deepen strategic ties with an emerging player on the world stage in security, trade, arms control, and climate change. Clinton also paid tribute to the nearly 200 people who died in last November's terrorist siege of Mumbai.

While wearing a thread necklace, Clinton claps to a song sung by volunteers of the NGO Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) during a visit to its premises in Mumbai on July 18. She first came into contact with the association of women artisans in 1995, when she was first lady. She said, "It is absolutely undeniable that the progress of women is directly linked to the progress of any country. The more women have the rights, education, employment opportunities, access to credit, role in decision making in family and community, the more development will take place."

The artisans presented her a handmade multicolored quilt. Clinton bought a jacket and scarf for Chelsea and an orange blouse dyed with pomegranate for herself.

Clinton, watched by Indian TV journalist Arnab Goswami, left, and Indian Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, gestures during an interactive education discussion in Mumbai on July 18.

Clinton waves to the media as Indian Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar (in white) looks on during a visit to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi on July 19. Clinton arrived in the Indian capital hoping to narrow a wide gap with her hosts on fighting climate change.

A garlanded Clinton shakes hands with Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh upon her arrival at the ITC Green Centre Building in Gurgaon, on the outskirts of New Delhi, on July 19. A friendly as things look in this photo, discussions between two became heated later on.

Clinton ended the day at the Delhi Haat artisans bazaar, where she bought a few handicraft pieces. She ate dinner at the Maurya Sheraton hotel's Bukhara restaurant. Husband Bill and daughter Chelsea dined there in 2000, and the restaurant has two items named after them: the vegetarian Chelsea Platter, featuring the foods Chelsea liked, and the nonvegetarian Presidential Platter, featuring items that Bill ordered.

Clinton said the next day, "I have long been an admirer of India. … I feel very much at home here. I eat way too much of the food at every chance I get. I have to go on a diet when I get back home -- back to carrots and celery."

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gestures while talking with Clinton  in New Delhi on July 20. Clinton hoped to seal a defense pact boosting U.S. arms sales to India in talks that should also see agreement on the siting of two U.S.-built nuclear reactors.

She also held a question-and-answer session with university students in New Delhi. She said the entertainment industry can distort how people in one country view those in another, saying to a laughing audience, "If Hollywood and Bollywood were how we all lived our lives, that would surprise me. … And yet it's often the way our cultures are conveyed, isn't it? … People watching a Bollywood movie in some other part of Asia think everybody in India is beautiful and they have dramatic lives and happy endings. And if you were to watch American TV and our movies you'd think that we don't wear clothes and we spend all our time fighting with each other."

Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi shakes hands with Clinton at a meeting in New Delhi on July 20. Gandhi is the widow of assassinated former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and daughter-in-law of the late Indira Gandhi, India's first woman prime minister.

Photos, top to bottom: INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images, INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images, INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images, PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images, TENGKU BAHAR/AFP/Getty Images, PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images, PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images

While in Mumbai, India, Secretary Clinton is staying in a three-room suite at the iconic Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel, which was badly damaged during last November's terrorist siege of the city. The entire floor she's staying on has been cordoned off, and about 200 police officers are stationed around the hotel, reports German press agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

On Saturday, Clinton is expected to engage in remembrance events for the victims of the siege, including visits to attack sites and meeting with survivors. On Sunday, she'll be off to New Delhi, the capital.

Although Clinton with be discussing how India and the United States can strengthen their strategic partnership and forge initiatives in a number of areas -- counterterrorism, trade, agriculture, etc. -- an important focus of her talks will be nuclear cooperation. The two countries signed an important deal last year that permits American companies to sell nuclear material and equiment to India for civilian use even though India hasn't signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

It is also expected that there will be an announcement of two sites for nuclear power plants to be built by American companies for $10 billion.

Photo: INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images