6 May 2014 | Himalayantimes| Kathmandu – A Save the Children report has put Nepal’s ranking in Mothers’ Index 2015 at 116 out of a total 178 countries studied globally.

Issuing a statement today, Save the Children said Nepal rose five spots on its present ranking, overtaking neighbours Bhutan.

The statement lauded Nepal’s progress referring the country as ‘one of the toughest places in the world to be a mother’. Nepal’s ranking in the Mothers’ Index was in the bottom 10 in 2000, 2002 and 2005.

“The country however still lags behind regional leader Sri Lanka at 89th as communities in many parts of Nepal continue to suffer from food insecurity and recurring emergencies,” the statement read.

The report shows that maternal and child mortality in the most challenging countries of the world can be dramatically cut when efforts are made to improve services for mothers and children. In Nepal, maternal mortality decreased by more than two-thirds, child mortality cut by half, expected years of schooling increased by 3.6 years, gross national income per capita tripled and the percentage of women in parliament increased 4.5 times over the past 15 years.

The index is a part of the children’s aid agency’s annual State of the World’s Mothers report, now in its fifteenth edition. The index compares 178 countries around the globe, showing which are succeeding – and which are failing – in saving and improving the lives of mothers and their children.

Overall, Finland was ranked the best place to be a mother for the second consecutive time, while Somalia came in last.

“Nepal has been consistently rising on the index, with dramatic cuts in maternal and child mortality after the civil war ended in 2006. This is a result of strong political will and willingness to invest in healthcare for mothers and children,” the statement quoted David Wright, country director for Save the Children in Nepal as saying. “However, at 116th position, Nepal still has a long way to go in ending preventable child and maternal deaths, especially for the poorest and hardest to reach population.”

As per the available statistics of the Save the Children, one in 24 children die before their fifth birthday, 60 percent of those within the first 28 days of life, many from easily treatable conditions if they had access to a skilled health worker.