May 8,2001 WASHINGTON (AP) - A failure to address the health needs of the country's minorities and poor caused the United States to miss a top 10 ranking in a new index measuring the status of mothers around the world, a report says.
The United States ranked 11th out of 94 countries on the "Mothers' Index" in a report issued Tuesday by the Save the Children foundation. The report was released five days before Mother's Day.
The organization ranked countries on the basis of a mother's access to health care, use of contraception and family planning, literacy rate, and participation in government.
"Although maternal health care services in the United States may be considered among the best available in the world, the discrepancy in access to these services between white and minority women is a major cause of this poor showing," the foundation said in a summary of its report.
The 10 top-rated countries in which the studies show mothers fare the best are, in order, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, Austria, Australia and the United Kingdom.
The 10 countries at the bottom of the 94 are, with the worst first, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mali, Yemen, Gambia, Burundi, Mauritania, Central African Republic and Benin.
The United States fared worse in the report's "girls' investment index," primarily because of its high teen pregnancy rate. The nation came in 22nd out of 140 nations and tied with Greece and Hungary.
The U.S. adolescent pregnancy rate has dropped in recent years, but children born to teens are still more likely to receive inadequate health care and live in poverty throughout their lives, the report found.
The girls' index was based on a comparison of infant mortality rates, nutritional status, primary school enrollment and access to safe water.
While the United States is among the richest nations in the world, its rankings on the two indexes "clearly show there is room for improvement in the conditions for the nation's mothers and girls," the foundation said in a summary of its report.
The report, among its recommendations, called for increased U.S. funding for maternal and child health and family planning services.
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
