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Full article: Trailing the pack: Pakistan worst place in South Asia to be a mother – The Express TribuneBy Sehrish WasifPublished: May 7, 2014
ISLAMABAD: After the travel restrictions imposed on Pakistan due to its failure to eradicate polio, Pakistan is in for another embarrassment on the health front situation due to its poor performance in improving maternal and child well-being.
According to an annual Save the Children study, "State of the World's Mothers: saving mothers and children in humanitarian crises", launched by Save the Children on Tuesday, Pakistan is ranked 147 out of 178 countries listed and dead last in South Asia in terms of child and maternal well-being due to poor healthcare services, poverty, malnutrition and natural calamities.
The mothers' index assesses the well-being of mothers and children around the globe, showing which countries are succeeding — and which are failing — in saving and improving the lives of mothers and their children. Overall, Finland was ranked the best place to be a mother for the second straight year, and Somalia came in last.
The report says that in Pakistan, maternal mortality has been cut by almost half, child mortality decreased by a quarter, expected years of schooling increased by 3.3 years and gross national income per capita rose 270 per cent over the past 15 years.
"If all newborn babies in Pakistan experienced the same survival rates as newborns from the richest 20 percent of the population, 48,000 more babies would survive each year," states the report.
The study further reveals that the majority of deaths in Pakistan are reported from socially-excluded communities. Meanwhile, the country lead the world in the numbers of people affected by conflict — 28 million — with Nigeria the next worst, with 19 million.