Save the Children US has released its annual Mothers’ Index that ranks the best – and worst – places to be a mother and a child. The Index, highlighted in the State of the World’s Mothers 2005 report, ranks the status of mothers and children in 110 countries based on ten indicators pertaining to health and education. The Index reveals that where mothers survive and thrive, children survive and thrive.

Scandinavian countries sweep the top rankings of the best places to be a mother, while countries in sub-Saharan Africa dominate the bottom tier.

“The Mothers’ Index clearly shows that the quality of children’s lives is inextricably linked to the health and education of their mothers,” said Charles MacCormack, president and CEO of Save the Children US. “In countries where mothers fare well, children fare well; in countries where mothers do poorly, children do poorly.”

Afghanistan finishes in last place in the children’s well-being section of the Mothers’ Index . More than 1 out of every 7 children in Afghanistan dies before his or her first birthday, 87 percent of the population is without safe drinking water, and 25 percent of children are suffering from malnutrition. The situation for Afghan mothers is equally dismal: 1 in 6 mothers dies in childbirth; 86 percent of all newborns are delivered without trained health personnel, and 96 percent of women are not using modern contraception to space their births at healthy intervals.

The Mothers’ Index identifies female education, presence of a skilled attendant at birth, and access to, and use of, family planning services, as the three areas most strongly associated with child survival and well-being.

Women who are educated are more likely to postpone marriage and early childbirth, seek health care for themselves and their families, and encourage all of their children, including girls, to go to school.
As contraceptive use rises, and mothers are able to space their births at healthy intervals, deaths among mothers and children decline. For example, in the United States, 71 percent of women use modern birth control, 1 in 2,500 mothers dies in childbirth and 7 out of 1,000 infants do not make it to their first birthday. Compare this to Mali, where 6 percent of women use birth control, 1 in 10 mothers dies in childbirth, and 1 in 8 infants dies before reaching age one.

The full report, which includes the country rankings, has been posted at www.savethechildren.org. This is the sixth consecutive year Save the Children US has researched and documented conditions for mothers and their children in this format.

ENDS

For further information, contact Save the Children New Zealand on 04 385 6847.