The new State of the World's Mothers report has just come out. Apparently the best country in the world for mothers is... Norway. Unfortunately, the worst place is Niger. Finland came sixth for mothers and women but only 19th for children. Cambodia also ranked sixth for mother but for the least developed countries. Their women ranked third and children thirteenth.
I always knew breastfeeding is both wonderful and important but I didn't know that it could prevent a million child deaths each year... It is, in fact, the single most effective nutritional intervention for saving lives! In developing countries, breastfed babies have a 6 times better chance of survival than non-breastfed babies.
I didn't know that as many as 171 million children, a total of 27% of all children worldwide, are permanently stunted due to malnutrition. Cambodia is one of the thirty countries that have the worst rates of stuntedness, more than 40% of all children under 5. The direct global cost of malnutrition is c. USD 20-30 billion per year. Malnutrition causes more than 2.6 million child deaths per year. Horrific numbers. I don't know what else to write.
Breastfeeding combined with solid foods after 6 months of age would cut rates of stuntedness at 12 months by 20%...!
Cambodia is actually doing pretty well on this with 74% of mothers breastfeeding exclusively for the first 6 months (whereas in Finland only 50-60%). In fact, Cambodia is the world's 15th fastest country in the fight against child malnutrition.
More than 2 million mothers and babies could be saved each year by promoting and using the 'lifesaving six': iron folate, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, Vitamin A, zinc, and hygiene. This simple solution costs only USD 20 per child for the first 1000 days...! Yet more than half the world's children do not yet have access to this lifesaving package.
I always knew breastfeeding is both wonderful and important but I didn't know that it could prevent a million child deaths each year... It is, in fact, the single most effective nutritional intervention for saving lives! In developing countries, breastfed babies have a 6 times better chance of survival than non-breastfed babies.
I didn't know that as many as 171 million children, a total of 27% of all children worldwide, are permanently stunted due to malnutrition. Cambodia is one of the thirty countries that have the worst rates of stuntedness, more than 40% of all children under 5. The direct global cost of malnutrition is c. USD 20-30 billion per year. Malnutrition causes more than 2.6 million child deaths per year. Horrific numbers. I don't know what else to write.
Breastfeeding combined with solid foods after 6 months of age would cut rates of stuntedness at 12 months by 20%...!
Cambodia is actually doing pretty well on this with 74% of mothers breastfeeding exclusively for the first 6 months (whereas in Finland only 50-60%). In fact, Cambodia is the world's 15th fastest country in the fight against child malnutrition.
More than 2 million mothers and babies could be saved each year by promoting and using the 'lifesaving six': iron folate, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, Vitamin A, zinc, and hygiene. This simple solution costs only USD 20 per child for the first 1000 days...! Yet more than half the world's children do not yet have access to this lifesaving package.
You should read Poor Economics for a great analysis on why policies have utterly failed on all these aspects - and really interesting findings on why parents in developing countries often do not accept these services, even if provided.
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