"The authors argue that the high level of infant deaths in Washington
is rooted in "pervasive poverty, young and uninformed mothers and poor
prenatal care." They also consider race to be a factor -- with black
mothers and families being over-proportionally affected"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/05/08/map-the-best-and-worst-countries-to-be-a-mother/
Map: The best (and worst) countries to be a mother
By Rick Noack and Lazaro Gamio May 8
This Sunday is Mother's Day, but in some countries, there is more to
celebrate than in others. On average, one woman in 30 is likely to die
from pregnancy-related causes, and seven out of 10 women will lose a
child in their lifetime.
Despite global improvements in children's and maternal health,
inequality between the world's richest and poorest mothers and
children is widening, according to this year's mother index released
by the NGO Save the Children.
The index shows where mothers and children living in urban areas face
the least and the greatest hardships regarding women's and children's
health and economic well-being, among other aspects.
The world's best countries for mothers to raise children are less of a
surprise: Norway, Finland and Iceland. The United States, however,
slipped from the 31st spot last year to the 33rd. You can click on
individual countries in our map to see how they rank.
Most countries at the bottom of the ranking are located in sub-Saharan
Africa: Out of the 179 countries surveyed, Somalia, the Democratic
Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic perform worst.
Nearly all of the bottom-ranked countries are affected by conflict.
Why education matters so much in the ranking
Due to the limited availability of comparable data, the index took
into account factors that determine a woman’s as well as a child’s
well being. The report's authors focused on five factors in compiling
the index: maternal health, children's well being, economic wealth of
a country, and the participation of women in national politics in
order to be able to shape policies and debates. Also factored into the
index were the average years of formal schooling for children. You can
search for individual countries and find out how they performed in the
tool below.
"Numerous studies show a robust relationship between years of
schooling and a number of important life outcomes, including income,
health and civic participation,"Kathryn Bolles, the Children’s
Director of Health and Nutrition for Save the Children, told The
Washington Post.
Educated girls are also more likely to delay early marriage and
motherhood which greatly improved the likelihood that they and their
children will survive childbirth.
Growing inequality endangers mothers and their children worldwide
In more developed nations, other factors such as the ability of
mothers to pursue careers or child benefits would be likely to play a
role, as well. "But as the majority of women in most developing
countries do not have access to these benefits, it was not the single
best indicator of economic status available," said Bolles, explaining
the decision to focus on child development indicators.
In the report, Save the Children urges that more resources need to be
committed to tackling inequality in urban areas all over the globe.
"Increasingly, these preventable deaths are occurring in city slums,
where overcrowding and poor sanitation exist alongside skyscrapers and
shopping malls," the authors conclude. In the lowest-ranked countries,
children growing up in poverty are three to five times more likely to
die than those with wealthy parents.
Among high-income capitals, Washington D.C. has the highest infant death risk
Highest infant mortality rate
Top 5 world capitals with highest Infant mortality rates.
0
2
4
6
Washington, D.C.
7.9 in 1,000
Vienna
5.8
Bern
5.4
Warsaw
4.5
Athens Metro
4.4
Data for Vienna and Athens is from 2010. Data for Washington, D.C. is from 2012.
Source: Save the Children's 16th annual State of the World’s Mothers report
THE WASHINGTON POST
The finding that Washington D.C. performs worst in terms of infant
deaths among 25 high-income global capital cities might surprise some.
Whereas on average between 7 and 8 infants in Washington die out of
1,000 children, the number was as low as 2 in Prague, Oslo, Stockholm
and Tokyo.
The authors argue that the high level of infant deaths in Washington
is rooted in "pervasive poverty, young and uninformed mothers and poor
prenatal care." They also consider race to be a factor -- with black
mothers and families being over-proportionally affected.
In terms of politics, some developing countries outperform wealthier nations
Another finding of the index that could come unexpected is that
Western nations are not as uniquely advanced in terms of women in
politics as some might believe. "Countries like Rwanda, Bolivia, and
Cuba are doing a much better job of ensuring more equal representation
of women in national parliament than many Western nations are, such as
the United States, Ireland and Japan," Bolles said.
Participation in national government
Percentage of seats held by women. In Rwanda and Bolivia, more that
half of the seats are held by women.
Why did political representation matter so much to the authors of the
mother's index? "When women have a voice in politics, issues that are
important to mothers and their children are more likely to surface on
the national agenda and emerge as national politics," Bolles said.
The organization's overall conclusion follows her line of
argumentation. Even in countries that face conflicts and wars, the
situation of mothers and their children could be improved -- if there
were a political willingness to do so, according to the study.
"Some African countries, such as Eritrea, Ethiopia and Liberia have
reduced their under-5 mortality rate by two-thirds or more since
1990," Bolles said.
Rick Noack writes about foreign affairs. He is an Arthur F. Burns
Fellow at The Washington Post.
Lazaro Gamio makes interactive graphics for The Washington Post.
Before coming to the Post, he worked for The Miami Herald, and
interned for The Seattle Times and National Geographic.
Received on Sun May 10 2015 - 13:47:04 EDT