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Turkey falls short in child, maternal welfare on 'Mothers' Index'

05 May 2011 [10:01] - TODAY.AZ
Turkey falls in the bottom third of less-developed countries when it comes to good places to be a mother, according to a recent international ranking that placed Norway first and Afghanistan last overall.

The 12th annual Mothers’ Index, released Tuesday by the international nonprofit Save the Children ahead of Mother’s Day, ranked a total of 164 countries, divided into three tiers: more developed countries, less developed countries and least developed countries.

Turkey was the 55th country on the second list.

Norway’s first-place ranking was based on criteria such as low rates of maternal and child mortality, longer life spans, high literacy rates and at least one year of maternity leave. A typical Norwegian woman lives to be 83 years old, the study said, while noting that one in 175 will lose a child before his or her fifth birthday.

In Afghanistan, by contrast, women have an average life expectancy of 45 years, with one of every 11 women dying in childbirth. One out of every five children in the country does not live to age 5.

Among developed countries, Australia ranked second and Iceland third, while the United States was 31st. According to the report, which analyzes various indicators for both women and children, the relatively low U.S. ranking was attributed in part to the fact that the country had the highest rate of maternal death among industrialized countries in 2010.

In Turkey’s group of less developed countries, Cuba ranked first, Israel second and Greek Cyprus third. According to the report, 20 children out of every 1,000 live births in Turkey die before the age of 5, while the lifetime risk of death during pregnancy and childbirth for women is one in 1,900. The index also showed that modern birth-control methods are used by 43 percent of women in Turkey, where the average female lifespan is 75 years.

Most African countries fell into the lower ranks of the least developed countries category.

Save the Children urged the United States and other industrialized countries to assist less developed nations in promoting maternal and child health. The survey also recommended governments and international agencies work to better the lot of women and girls in developing countries by improving their education, health care and economic opportunities.


/Hurriyet Daily News/
URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/85636.html

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