Among the top 10 places to be a mother, not surprisingly, Norway ranks first, followed by Australia, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Among the bottom 10 places, Afghanistan ranks last (shocking considering the fact that the international community has been working there since 2001, pouring billions of aid and implementing numerous development programmes), preceded by Niger, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Yemen, DR Congo, Mali, Sudan, Eritrea and Equatorial Guinea.
The report's main conclusion is that there is an urgent need for increased numbers of skilled female health workers in countries whose ranking is low, who have access to rural areas and where social and cultural stigmas must be overcome (such as countries where access to women is limited).
The report states that "developing countries have too few health care workers to take on the life and death challenges facing mothers, their babies and young children. Worldwide, there are 57 countries with critical health workforce shortages, meaning that they have fewer than 23 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10,000 people. Thirty-six of these countries are in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to insufficient numbers, health workers are often poorly distributed, with the impoverished, hard-to-reach and marginalised families being most poorly served".
The sad irony is that the few skilled health workers who do originate from these countries in need, emmigrate to Europe, USA and Australia, contributing to extensive brain drain in developing countries, seeking better employment conditions and higher pay. One just has to go to a general hospital in any city in the UK and one will hardly find a British nurse.
The USA places 28, down from 27 in 2009 (next to Poland and Croatia), primarily because its rate for maternal mortality which is 1 in 4,800, is one the highest in the developed world. The US also ranks behind many other wealthy nations in terms of the generosity of maternity leave policies, which generally range from 4 to 6 weeks (if any...). The United Nations' maternity leave policy is minimum 4 months, while Nordic countries such as Norway and Sweden grant up to 12 months paid maternity leave.
Another interesting revelation is Lebanon's ranking, which falls at 48. Strange result considering the fact that 98% of Lebanese births are attended by skilled health workers and woman attend formal education for an average of 14 years (compared to 4 years in countries like Chad and Pakistan). So why such a poor ranking? I suspect it is probably due to the fact that in the workplace, Lebanese women today still do not benefit from equal pay and earn 25 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts; therefore not providing a conducive environment for mothers to pursue careers and be economically active.
A highly recommended read...
