Cuba rated best place to be a mother
Printed from THE TIMES OF INDIA
Cuba - despite its image as a
backward nation ruled by a despotic Communist regime - provides
the best conditions for motherhood among developing countries,
according to Save the Children's State of the World's Mothers
2010 report.
The report, made public Monday,
examines 160 countries - 43 developed and 117 developing ones -
and analyzes the best and worst places to be a mother based on
10 factors such as the educational status, health, economic
circumstances of the mothers, as well as the basic well-being of
children.
Among developed countries, Norway is in first
place in the rankings, followed by Australia, Iceland and
Sweden.
Within Latin America, Cuba is in first place on the list
of best developing countries in which to be a mother, while
Argentina is in third place, Uruguay in seventh and Costa Rica
in 12th, followed by Chile, Colombia and Brazil.
In
comparing countries, the report says that in Ethiopia medical
assistance is provided at just six percent of births, while in
Norway, there are plenty of qualified health personnel present
at almost all births.
One out of every seven women dies
during pregnancy or while giving birth in Niger, but in Greece
and Italy the death rate is less than one in 26,000 and in
Ireland it is just one in 47,000.
In Afghanistan, one of
every four children dies before reaching the age of 5, while the
comparable figure for Spain, France and Portugal is one of every
250.
Save the Children is issuing an urgent call to
increase the number of healthcare workers in the world's poorest
nations, given that 343,000 women lose their lives because of
complications during pregnancy or birth and almost nine million
children die before their fifth birthdays in those countries.
In fact, 57 countries have a ‘critical shortage’ of
healthcare workers, 36 of those nations being in Africa, and
every year 50 million women in developing countries give birth
without the help of any health personnel.