UAE mums rank 46th on international index

The UAE has been ranked 46th on a list of 77 middle-income nations rated for the best place to be a mother in a campaign group's new report.

The State of the World's Mothers 2010, released yesterday by Save the Children, tracks indicators of women's and children's health and well being, such as the lifetime risk of maternal death, skilled attendance at delivery, maternity leave benefits and the participation of women in national government as well as mortality rates of children under five, gender parity, gross school enrollment ratios and the population's access to safe water.

Norway topped the list, followed by several other developed nations. At the other end of the table was Afghanistan, below a list of sub-Saharan states. The UAE ranks behind Bahrain (24) and Kuwait (30), but ahead of Jordan (56) Saudi Arabia (62) and India (73).

The report attempts to show how female health workers in developing countries are helping save the lives of mothers and infants, while highlighting how millions of more lives can be saved if governments invest in the right solutions.

In separate indices assessed by the report, the UAE ranked 23rd among the same 77 nations on a list of the best places to be a child, while it was the 56th best place to be a woman.

The UAE scored highly in terms of exposure to skilled personnel, with 99 per cent of births in the country attended by health professionals, while factors that negatively impacted the rating included the female-to-male income ratio.

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