On UN World Population Day: ensuring the right of mothers and their daughters to health and education

Every minute, a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth. Two hundred million women around the world have no access to modern contraception. By improving maternal-health awareness and family planning resources the deaths of an estimated 175,000 mothers who lose their lives after or during childbirth, can be prevented.

On World Population Day, Save the Children is highlighting the close link between the condition of women and the level of welfare and progress of society. Save the Children calls on governments -particularly the G8 countries - to fully commit themselves to health and education for all women and girls by 2015.

"It is now widely accepted that the welfare of a society in terms of health, growth and economic, cultural, and social development is closely linked to the welfare and living conditions of women and girls," says Fosca Nomis, Head of Campaigns and Advocacy at Save the Children Italy. "The more we strengthen and improve the conditions of girls and mothers, by defending their right to health, education and training, the more the population of a country -and the entire world - will benefit. Women will be in a situation to make decisions about their own lives and better prepared to plan their own pregnancies. It has been demonstrated that an educated woman tends to defer and have longer intervals between her pregnancies. She also tends to teach to her daughters to do the same."

The ranking of mothers' welfare: Sweden first, Niger last
Every minute a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth. These deaths would not occur or would be much less frequent if women could access specialised care or if they could better plan their pregnancies. It is estimated that about 200 million women would like to use modern contraceptive methods, but they do not have this option. This results in unwanted pregnancies and, potentially death as sometimes there is neither support nor adequate healthcare. It is estimated that about 175,000 mothers would not die after or during childbirth if they had access to family planning resources.

In regards to education, today, among the 72 million children excluded from school, more than 50 percent are girls, who do not have access to primary school education.
"The numbers clearly show that there are still too many women, mothers and girls who live far below the minimum heath and education standards in conditions of extreme need, poverty, inequality and marginalization," continued Fosca Nomis. "Moreover, there is still a huge gap between the situation of women living in countries such as Sweden, Norway or Italy, which are particularly keen to protect and support women, and those who live in countries such as Niger, Yemen, Ethiopia and many countries in sub-Saharan Africa."

Save the Children's State of the World's Mothers report states that while in Sweden virtually every birth is attended by skilled health personnel, in Niger only 33 percent of the births are assisted. Seventy-two percent of Swedish women are using some modern method of contraception; a typical Swedish woman has nearly 17 years of formal education and has a life expectancy of 83 years. In contrast, in Niger, only 4 percent of women use contraception, a typical woman will have less than three years of education and will live to be 45.

The worst countries for mothers' welfare, are countries such as Niger, Chad, Yemen, Sierra Leone, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti. In these countries, mothers' living conditions are extremely difficult; two-thirds of births happen without the assistance of skilled health personnel, 1 mother in every 21 risks her life for causes related to her pregnancy. In addition, 1 child in every 3 is not enrolled in primary school, the ratio between enrolled girls and boys is 3 to 4 and on average girls barely complete 5 years of school.

"Beyond the numbers, what we need to bear in mind is that the conditions of women and mothers have a significant impact both on the health and welfare of children, and on the entire society", says Fosca Nomis. "It is no coincidence that nations where women's health or education are less guaranteed, are those where there are higher rates of infant mortality and greater poverty. In Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, where 1 woman in every 7 dies in childbirth and less than 5 percent use contraception, infant mortality is unfortunately very high: 1 child in 4 dies within the first five years and about 40 percent of children in the same age group suffer from malnutrition."

Fosca Nomis continued: "Investing in mothers' welfare and education for women is key to ensuring children welfare and benefits for the entire population and society. In more concrete terms, it is essential that donor countries increase funding for maternal-infant health and contribute to improve the strategies to provide effective, accessible and free basic services, especially in developing countries. It is also necessary to ensure and promote access to education for all children, with special attention to girls. We hope that Italy, which will chair the G8 in 2009, will give high priority in its agenda to the protection of maternal and infant health and to the right to education for children, with a special focus on girls."

Notes:
Save the Children images on maternal-child health and women education are available

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