May 05--Norway is the most hospitable country in the world for mothers, followed by Finland and Iceland, according to the annual State of the World's Mothers report, released Monday night.
The United States ranks 33rd out of 179 surveyed countries for the well-being of its mothers and children, below Spain (No. 7), Australia (No. 9), Italy (No. 12), France (No. 23) and Croatia (No. 30).
"The U.S. is quite low compared to other developed countries," Save the Children's health and nutrition specialist Lani Crane, a principal adviser on the report, told me.
Somalia ranks last.
This year's report -- the organization's 16th -- focuses on the plight of the urban poor worldwide.
"Average statistics for health indicators in cities conceal the vast suffering in slums and other pockets of poverty in rich and poor countries alike," Margaret Chan, director of World Health Organization, writes in the report. "Vast health inequalities are pervasive."
This is particularly true in Chicago, where the infant death rate is higher than the national average: 7.9 deaths for 1,000 live births, compared to a national average of 6.1 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to the report.
Washington, D.C., has the highest infant death among capital cities in high-income countries, at 6.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. That's three times the infant mortality rate in Tokyo and Stockholm, the report states.
"What we're really talking about is that in cities, it's truly the survival of the richest," Crane said last week, in advance of the report's release.
"When people think of cities, they have an image of a big lights, big city, glittery kind of place," she said. "But people are essentially dying in the shadows of shopping malls and skyscrapers."
Fifty-four percent of the world's population lives in urban areas, the report states. That figure is expected to grow to 66 percent by 2050.
The report looks at cities that have narrowed the well-being gap between rich and poor residents, including Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, and offers a framework for the world's governing bodies and private-sector leaders to improve conditions for women and their children.
"There's a role at all levels," Crane said. "What we're hoping is with a real recognition of the problem, we'll see a public-private partnership to try to address the vast inequities and give children a healthier start."
hstevens@tribpub.com
