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| steel driving hammer |
Great news for Marianne!
Best Place to Be Mom.
Tue May 6,11:38 AM ET
By Sue Pleming
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland are the world's best countries in which to be a mother, while women and their children fare worst in poor African countries, according to a study released on Tuesday.
In its annual "Mothers Index," relief group Save the Children compared the well-being of mothers and their children in 117 countries, 43 of which were experiencing conflict or had emerged from civil strife. The index considered 10 factors related to women's and children's health, education and political status.
Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland were ranked in the top five countries respectively for mothers, followed by Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, Austria and the United Kingdom. The United States, where Mother's Day will be celebrated on Sunday, ranked 11th.
The study ranked poor countries Niger, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Guinea-Bissau at the bottom of the list along with Angola, Chad, Mali, Yemen, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
"One in seven women in parts of Africa will die in childbirth or pregnancy just trying to be a mother, compared to 1 in 6,000 in Sweden," said Mary Beth Powers, a reproductive health advisor for Save the Children.
"No woman should have to die in her effort to become a mother. Whether that means you are in a conflict zone or in a peaceful but poor setting, there ought to be basic care available," Powers told Reuters.
LITERACY A KEY FACTOR
The index found a mother's level of education and access to family planning services were most strongly linked to an infant's survival and well-being.
In Sweden, 99 percent of women are literate, compared with only 8 percent of women in Niger.
In the United Kingdom, where 82 percent of women used modern birth control, only 1 in 5,100 mothers died in childbirth and only 6 out of 1,000 infants did not live to their first birthday.
In Guinea, where 4 percent of women used birth control, 1 in 7 mothers died in childbirth, and more than 1 in 10 infants died within the first year of their lives.
In terms of a child's well-being, Afghanistan (news - web sites) finished in last place. There, 165 infants out of every 1,000 died before their first birthday, while 71 percent of children were not enrolled in school. In Iraq (news - web sites), a mother was 35 times more likely to see her child die in the first year of life than in Sweden.
Millions of women and children were caught in more than 40 conflicts around the world, the report said, adding that not enough was being done to protect them from the worst atrocities of war, such as rape and children being forced into combat.
Save the Children officials and actress Sally Field joined members of the U.S. Congress on Tuesday to introduce new legislation to set aside $45 million to protect women and children during armed conflicts.
"The United States has not done nearly enough to coordinate efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women and children in these situations," said Delaware Democrat Sen. Joseph Biden. "This new legislation will make protection of women and children in war situations a much higher priority."
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| Joey |
Word Up My Baby Steelie !
JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJACKY ! |
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| steel driving hammer |
I don't mean to sound like a shock jock.
He's so down to earth and fun to be around.
In this crazy world of back biters and syndicators, I'm glad and fortunate, to call Marko my friend.
Him and I together, it's like Ronnie X2!
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CHAT
ROOM aka THE FUN HOUSE] [
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