sowm_2015__int__africa_full_report_low_res

What the Numbers Don’t Tell You
The contrast between the top-ranked country,
Norway, and the lowest-ranked country,
Somalia, is striking. Although maternal death
is a rare event in Norway (the lifetime chance
of dying in pregnancy or childbirth is about 1
in 15,000), one Somali woman in 18 is likely to
eventually die of a maternal cause. Nearly every
Norwegian child – girl and boy alike – enjoys
good health and education. But children in
Somalia face incredible odds. Almost 15 percent
of Somali children do not live to see their fifth
birthday. In Norway, it’s only 0.3 percent. At
these rates, nine out of 10 Somali mothers are
likely to lose a child under age 5, whereas only
1 in 188 Norwegian women are likely to suffer
the loss of a young child. Children in Somalia
can expect to receive less than 2.5 years of
formal education, while the typical Norwegian
child stays in school for 17.5 years. Somalia is
also one of the poorest countries in the world,
while Norway is the wealthiest. And Norwegian
women hold roughly three times as many parliamentary
seats: 40 percent in Norway compared
to 14 percent in Somalia.
It should be noted that not all Somali
children are equally bad off. National averages
mask large sub-national disparities. Recent
survey data suggest some northern areas have
under-5 mortality rates that are less than half the
national average. 161
Gaps Between Rich and Poor
The data collected for the Mothers’ Index document
the tremendous gaps between rich and
poor countries and the urgent need to accelerate
progress in the health and well-being of mothers
and their children. The data also highlight the
role that armed conflict and poor governance
play in these tragedies. Nine of the bottom
11 countries are conflict-affected or otherwise
considered to be fragile states, 162 which means
they are failing in fundamental ways to perform
functions necessary to meet their citizens’ basic
needs and expectations.
There are also strong regional dimensions to
this tragedy. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 25
of the 30 lowest-ranking countries. While Africa
as a whole has made substantial reductions in
The national-level data presented in the Mothers’ Index provide an
overview of many countries. However, it is important to remember
that the condition of geographic or ethnic sub-groups and the poorest
families in a country may vary greatly from the national average.
Remote rural areas and urban slums often have fewer services and
more dire statistics. War, violence, corruption and lawlessness also
do great harm to the well-being of mothers and children, and often
affect certain segments of the population disproportionately. These
details are hidden when only broad national-level data are available.
maternal and child mortality, and gains against
the other indicators, it has progressed more
slowly than other regions, and on a regional
level, performs worst on every indicator but one
(political status). There is great diversity within
Africa, however. Some countries score relatively
high on several indicators, and a number of lowincome
African countries – Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Liberia, Malawi, Niger and Tanzania – have
reduced their under-5 mortality rate by twothirds
or more since 1990. 163
Somalia
STATE OF THE WORLD’S MOTHERS 2015 57