Gambia-L,
I am not quite sure how accurate this analysis is. If Gambia is truly in the
bottom 10 of this ranking as they say, then we have a huge responsibility.
Read on.
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Countries Ranked on Moms, Children
By LAWRENCE L. KNUTSON, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Ranking the status and well-being of mothers in 106
countries, a leading child development organization cited a clear link
Tuesday between the health, literacy and economic opportunity of mothers and
the fate of the world's coming generation of children.
"When mothers thrive, children thrive," said Charles MacCormack, president
of Save the Children, founded 70 years ago to help relieve poverty and
hunger among the very young.
The report, issued five days before Mother's Day, ranked mothers' situations
in 106 countries where adequate statistics are available. Twenty are
industrial, the other 86 underdeveloped.
The United States placed fifth on the list of the top 10 countries. Financed
in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the report compares
countries on the basis of a mother's access to medical care and maternal
mortality rates, use of contraceptives and family planning, literacy and
participation in government.
The well-being of children was rated by infant mortality rates, primary
school enrollment, nutrition and access to safe water.
Of factors studied, the report identifies female education and use of
voluntary family planning as most closely associated with improved status of
mothers and children, MacCormack said.
He said although mothers and children tend to do better in wealthier
countries, "National wealth alone does not guarantee their health and well
being."
The 10 top-rated countries in which the studies show mothers fare the best
are, in order, Norway, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, the United States,
Netherlands, Britain, Finland, France and Cyprus.
The 10 countries at the bottom of the 106 are, with the worst first, Niger,
Mali, Guinea, Burundi, Ethiopia, Chad, Burkina Faso, Nepal, Gambia and
Angola.
In the top 10 countries, female literacy ranges over 90 percent and the
lifetime risk of a woman dying in childbirth is less than one in 3,000.
Infant mortality ranges from four to eight for every 1,000 live births and
access is virtually universal to safe drinking water and education.
The situation is reversed in the bottom 10, all in sub-Saharan Africa except
Nepal.
Examples from the report:
-In Niger one woman in nine will die in pregnancy or childbirth; in Norway
the risk is one in every 7,300.
-Just 6 percent of women in the bottom 10 countries use modern birth
control.
-One of every eight children born in the bottom 10 countries will not live
to reach his or her first birthday.
Although the United States ranks high overall, the report said one child in
five lives in poverty in this country, and the rate of infant mortality is
high among certain American Indian groups, blacks and Hispanics.
The report includes these recommendations:
-Ensure access to quality education for women and girls.
-Ensure that women have access to quality voluntary family planning.
-Close the gap in the welfare of mothers and children among "marginalized"
populations in industrial countries.
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Abdoulie A. Jallow
Send money to friends and family via e-mail!
https://secure.paypal.com/refer/pal=ajallow%40usd.edu
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter".
- Dr. M. L. King Jr.
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