Natalie Gonnella
In honor of Mother's day, Save the Children this week released the latest results of their yearly analysis examining the best and worst places in the world to be a mom.
The 11th annual report (which focuses on factors like maternal and infant mortality rates, ratio of women in political office, educational enrollment), named previous winner Norway as the best country in the world to be mother, with the United States placing 31st overall (falling four spots since the 2010 report.)
Unsurprisingly, Afghanistan once again closes out the list at 164th. According to the report:
Afganistan has the highest lifetime risk of maternal mortality and the lowest female life expectancy in the world. It also places second to last on skilled attendance at birth, under-5 mortality and gender disparity in primary education. Performance on most other indicators also places Afghanistan among the lowest-ranking countries in the world.
Former Senate Majority Leader Bill H. Frist, along with former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, provided the forward for the analysis, in which they stressed the importance of US aid in combating maternal and infant mortality across the globe:
When children in developing countries die, we all mourn this loss of life, especially when we know that most of these deaths could have been easily prevented. We are no longer Democrats or Republicans — we are members of the human family who recognize that it is simply wrong for some of our children to have access to basic services that ensure they survive, while others do not.
The full results of Save the Children's 2011 Mother's Index is available to view here.
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