Pakistan ranks 77th in mothers’ index

India does not fare too well, positioned slightly higher at 75th. China, which is clubbed with India for “growth stories”, is ranked much higher at 18th spot. Sri Lanka is at 43rd place, while Bangladesh is ranked 18 in the list of 40 “least developed countries.”

‘The 2011 Mothers’ Index’ by international child rights NGO ‘Save the Children’ divided countries into more developed, less developed and least developed ones and drew up separate lists on the basis of well-being of mothers and children including their health, education and economic status.

The report analysed a total of 164 countries, among which Afghanistan had turned out to be the world’s toughest place to be a mother being ranked at the bottom.

In the Mothers’ Index for more developed countries, Norway is at the top followed by Australia and Iceland.

In Afghanistan, only 14 per cent of births have skilled attendants, and 1 child out of 5 dies before the age of 5 – meaning that almost every mother will suffer the loss of a child. The typical Afghan woman will die before she turns 45, and has fewer than five years of education.

“In Afghanistan,” notes Mary Beth Powers, chief of Save the Children’s Child Survival Campaign, “it is still more risky to give birth than … fighting in Afghanistan.”

Despite progress in reducing maternal mortality and child mortality, the report says that India still ranks as one out of 12 countries that account for two-thirds of under-five child deaths and maternal deaths in the world.

As per the survey, only 53 per cent of births in India are attended by skilled health personnel while female life expectancy is 66 years. Under-five mortality rate was 66 per 1000 live births and percentage of children under five who are moderately or severely underweight stands at 48.

“Every year in India 68,000 women die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. Twenty lakh newborns die annually,” Shireen Miller of Save the Children India said.

“With relatively modest investments in basic training, supervision and support, female frontline health workers can deliver low-cost health interventions that can save the lives of thousands of mothers and their children,” she said, calling for more government investment for maternal and child health.

2011 mothers’ index ranking Top 10

1      Norway

2      Australia

3      Iceland

4      Sweden

5      Denmark

6      New Zealand

7      Finland

8      Belgium

9      Netherlands

10    France

Middle 10

69    Oman

70    Zimbabwe

71    Kenya

72    Morocco

73    Cameroon

74    Congo

75    India

76    Papua

77    Pakistan

78    Nigeria

79    Côte d’Ivoire

Bottom 10

155  Central African Republic

156  Sudan

157  Mali

158  Eritrea

159  DR Congo

160  Chad

161  Yemen

162  Guinea-Bissau

163  Niger

164         Afghanistan

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2011.