The Save the Children State of the World's Mothers report (SOWM report) is an annual report by the Save the Children USA, which compiles statistics on the health of mothers and children and uses them to produce rankings of more than 170 countries, showing where mothers fare best and where they face the greatest hardships. The rankings are presented in the Mothers' Index, which has been produced annually since the year 2000. The 2014 report focuses on saving mothers and children in humanitarian crises. It finds that over half the 800 maternal and 18,000 child deaths every day take place in fragile settings which are at high risk of conflict and are particularly vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters. The 2014 report ranks Finland the number one place to be a mother. Somalia in the Horn of Africa replaced Democratic Republic of the Congo (ranking 178th) as the worst place in the world to be a mother. The United States is down one spot from 2013, ranking 31st. Statistics show that 1 in 27 women from the bottom ranking countries will die from pregnancy-related causes. In addition, 1 in 7 children will die before their fifth birthday. The 2015 report is the last edition of the report published on the Save the Children website.
2014 SOWM Report: Key Findings More than 60 million women and children are in need of humanitarian assistance this year. Violence and conflict have uprooted more families than at any time on record. Since the Mothers' Index was launched in 2000, the majority of the bottom 10 countries have been in the midst of, or emerging from, a recent humanitarian emergency. Civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has led to horrific abuses against women and children, and claimed more than 5.4 million lives. But less than 10 percent of these deaths have occurred in combat. Most deaths have been due to preventable or treatable causes such as malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, newborn causes and malnutrition. Syria's civil war has had a devastating impact on mothers and children. At least 1.3 million children and 650,000 women have fled the conflict and become refugees in neighboring countries, while over 9 million people inside Syria are in need of lifesaving humanitarian assistance. The Philippines' resiliency is being tested by more frequent and increasingly severe emergencies. Typhoon Haiyan on November 8, 2013 was one of the most destructive typhoons to ever hit land. It killed more than 6,000 people, devastated more than 2,000 hospitals and health clinics and destroyed countless health records and computer systems. In the United States, despite the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and other recent disasters, many gaps remain in emergency planning and preparedness. While the conditions facing mothers and children in the U.S. are very different from those in developing or middle-income countries, there are common challenges, including the resilience of health care and other essential services, and the extent to which humanitarian response reaches those mothers and children in greatest need.
2013 SOWM Report: Key Findings An original analysis by Save the Children estimates that within the first month of life, more than 1 million babies could be saved each year with universal access to these products, which cost between 13 cents and $6 each and are ready for rapid scale-up now. The products are:
steroid injections for women in preterm labor (to reduce deaths due to premature babies' breathing problems); resuscitation devices (to save babies who do not breathe at birth); chlorhexidine cord cleansing (to prevent umbilical cord infections); and injectable antibiotics (to treat newborn sepsis and pneumonia).
2012 SOWM Report: Key Findings Many children in many countries are not getting adequate nutrition during their first 1000 days of life. The malnutrition of children is widespread and limits the future success of both children and their countries. Malnutrition cannot be solved by economic growth alone. Health workers save millions of children. The United States has the least favorable environment for breastfeeding mothers (in the industrialized world). The top 10 countries in the 2012 SOWM Report are: Norway, Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands and UK (tied). The bottom 10 countries (ranked 155-164) in the 2012 SOWM Report are: Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, Chad, Eritrea, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Niger.
Vital Statistics More than 2.6 million child deaths each year are caused by malnutrition. Stunted (bodies and minds have suffered permanent, irreversible damage from malnutrition) children make up approximately 27% of all children globally (or about 171 million). Breastfed children in developing countries are a minimum of 6 times more likely to survive in the early months of life than children who are not breastfed. Stunting rates at 12 months could be cut by around 20% if all children in the developing world were to receive adequate nutrition and feeding of solid foods with breastfeeding. If breastfeeding were practiced optimally, it could prevent approximately 1 million deaths each year. This is because breastfeeding is the single most effective nutrition intervention for saving lives. On average, adults who were malnourished as children can earn an estimated 20% less than those who weren't malnourished as children. Due to the effects of malnutrition in developing countries, losses in GDP can add up to 2-3% annually. Malnutrition is estimated to cost $20–$30 billion per year globally. Thirty counties have stunting rates of 40% or more.
Types of Malnutrition Stunting - Stunting is when a child is too short for their age. It is caused by poor diet and frequent infections. Generally, stunting occurs before the age of 2, with largely irreversible effects. These effects include: delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function, and poor performance in school.
27% of all children globally are stunted. Wasting - Wasting is when a child's weight is too low for their height. Wasting is caused by acute malnutrition. It is a strong predictor of mortality for children under 5 years old. Usually, it is caused by either food shortage or disease.
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