Nutrition in the First 1,000 Days - Save the Children

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8 executive summary afghanistan workers, including community health workers, who are critical to delivering the nutrition solutions that can save lives and prevent stunting. Governments and donors should work together to fill this health worker gap by recruiting, training and supporting new and existing health workers, and deploying them where they are needed most. 3. Help more girls go to school and stay in school. One of the most effective ways to fight child malnutrition is to focus on girls’ education. Educated women tend to have fewer, healthier and better-nourished children. Increased investments are needed to help more girls go to school and stay in school, and to encourage families and communities to value the education of girls. Both formal education and non-formal training give girls knowledge, self-confidence, practical skills and hope for a bright future. These are powerful tools that can help delay marriage and child-bearing to a time that is healthier for them and their babies. 4. Increase government support for proven solutions to fight malnutrition and save lives. In order to meet internationally agreed upon development goals to reduce child deaths and improve mothers’ health, lifesaving services must be increased for the women and children who need help most. All countries must make fighting malnutrition and stunting a priority. Developing countries should commit to and fund national nutrition plans that are integrated with plans for maternal and child health. Donor countries should support these goals by keeping their funding commitments to achieving the Millennium Development Goals and countries should endorse and support the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement. Resources for malnutrition programs should not come at the expense of other programs critical to the survival and well-being of children.(To read more, turn to page 45.) 5. Increase private sector partnerships to improve nutrition for mothers and children. Many local diets fail to meet the nutritional requirements of children 6-24 months old. The private sector can help by producing and marketing affordable fortified products. Partnerships should be established with multiple manufacturers, distributors and government ministries to increase product choice, access and affordability, improve compliance with codes and standards, and promote public education on good feeding practices and use of local foods and commercial products. The food industry can also invest more in nutrition programs and research, contribute social marketing expertise to promote healthy behaviors such as breastfeeding, and advocate for greater government investments in nutrition. 6. Improve laws, policies and actions that support families and encourage breastfeeding. Governments in all countries can do more to help parents and create a supportive environment for breastfeeding. Governments and partners should adopt policies that are child-friendly and support breastfeeding mothers. Such policies would give families access to maternal and paternal leave, ensure that workplaces and public facilities offer women a suitable place to feed their babies outside of the home, and ensure working women are guaranteed breastfeeding breaks while on the job. In an increasingly urban world, a further example is that public transportation can offer special seats for breastfeeding mothers.
S av e t h e c h i l D r e N · S tat e o F t h e Wo r l D ’ S M ot h e r S 2 0 1 2 9 Niger the 2012 Mothers’ Index Index: : norway tops List, niger Ranks Last, United states Ranks 25th Save the Children’s thirteenth annual Mothers’ Index compares the well-being of mothers and children in 165 countries – more than in any previous year. The Mothers’ Index also provides information on an addi- tional 8 countries, 7 of which report sufficient data to present findings on women’s or children’s indicators. When these are included, the total comes to 173 countries. Norway, Iceland and Sweden top the rankings this year. The top 10 countries, in general, attain very high scores for mothers’ and children’s health, educational and economic status. Niger ranks last among the 165 countries surveyed. The 10 bottom-ranked countries – eight from sub-Saharan Africa – are a reverse image of the top 10, performing poorly on all indicators. The United States places 25th this year – up six spots from last year. Conditions for mothers and their children in the bottom countries are grim. On average, 1 in 30 women will die from pregnancy-related causes. One child in 7 dies before his or her fifth birthday, and more than 1 child in 3 suffers from malnutrition. Nearly half the population lacks access to safe water and fewer than 4 girls for every 5 boys are enrolled in primary school. The gap in availability of maternal and child health services is especially dramatic when comparing Norway and Niger. Skilled health personnel are present at virtu- ally every birth in Norway, while only a third of births are attended in Niger. A typical Norwegian girl can expect to receive 18 years of formal education and to live to be over 83 years old. Eighty-two percent of women are using some modern method of contraception, and only 1 in 175 is likely to lose a child before his or her fifth birthday. At the opposite end of the spectrum, in Niger, a typical girl receives only 4 years of education and lives to be only 56. Only 5 percent of women are using modern contraception, and 1 child in 7 dies before his or her fifth birthday. At this rate, every mother in Niger is likely to suffer the loss of a child. Zeroing in on the children’s well-being portion of the Mothers’ Index Index, , Iceland finishes first and Somalia is last out of 171 countries. While nearly every Icelandic child – girl and boy alike – enjoys good health and education, children in Somalia face the highest risk of death in the world. More than 1 child in 6 dies before age 5. Nearly one-third of Somali children are malnourished and 70 percent lack access to safe water. Fewer than 1 in 3 children in Somalia are enrolled in school, and within that meager enrollment, boys outnumber girls almost 2 to 1. These statistics go far beyond mere numbers. The human despair and lost opportunities represented in these numbers demand mothers everywhere be given the basic tools they need to break the cycle of poverty and improve the quality of life for themselves, their children, and for generations to come. See the Appendix for the Complete Mothers’ Index and Country Rankings.
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creDitS managing editor tracy geogh
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