Save the Children: State of the World's Mothers 2011 Report
“Champions for Children” argue for continued investment in lifesaving maternal and child health programs
3 MAY 2011 — Released just in time for Mothers’ Day in North America, Save the Children's 12th annual “State of the World's Mothers” report makes the case that US investment in basic health care for the world’s mothers and children impacts America’s own national interests — everything from the country’s future national security, to economic growth for American businesses in developing countries, to the environment.
Save the Children’s 2011 “State of the World’s Mothers” report also includes the organization’s annual rankings of the world’s best and worst places to be a mother. Norway ranks 1st and Afghanistan last in the new report. Eight of the 10 worst countries to be a mother are in sub-Saharan Africa. In Afghanistan, expecting mothers are at least 200 times more likely to die in childbirth than from bombs or bullets.
Lack of health workers costing lives
New this year, a separate report provides an in depth analysis on one key aspect that determines a country’s ranking in Save the Children’s annual Mothers’ Index — a woman's access to skilled attendance when giving birth. “Missing Midwives & the State of the World’s Mothers” was prepared in conjunction with the international report by Save the Children Canada and the Canadian Association of Midwives. Working with other partners, these organizations are working to address the estimated global shortage of 4.3 million health workers including doctors, nurses, midwives and community health workers. Their report says a minimum of 350,000 midwives are needed to save not only thousands of mothers, but 1.3 million newborn babies, who every year die from easily preventable causes.
World’s mothers in the spotlight
For a deeper look into the lives of the mothers around the globe, Save the Children has partnered with independent non-profit broadcaster LinkTV on a new half-hour documentary that draws from the “State of the World’s Mothers” report. ViewChange: The Mothers Index can be viewed online at www.savethechildren.org/world-mothers and www.viewchange.org/ and will be broadcast on Link TV on Friday, May 6 (7pm ET, 4pm PT) and Tuesday, May 10th (11pm ET, 8pm PT). Link TV is available across the United States on DIRECTV channel 375 and DISH channel 9410.