WASHINGTON. - The Philippines and Peru are
doing the best job of vaccinating children and treating them for
critical diseases compared to other developing nations, Save the
Children reported on Tuesday.
With 84 percent of its children having these
basic health needs unmet, Ethiopia placed on the bottom of the
list in the report issued by the US-based humanitarian group.
Save the Children also ranked 146 countries
for how good they are for mothers and children. Sweden, Norway,
Iceland, New Zealand and Denmark topped the list. Niger was
last. The United States placed 27th, one spot below last year's
ranking.
The rankings were based on data that included
immunization against childhood diseases such as malaria and
tetanus, access to treatment for leading childhood killers such
as diarrhea and pneumonia, prenatal care and other factors.
Worldwide, more than 200 million children
under age 5 do not get basic health care when they need it, with
the poorest children being the worst off, Save the Children
said.
In the Philippines, 31 percent of children
under 5 are missing out on such basic health care, the smallest
proportion of any country in the report. Peru was next at 32
percent, then South Africa (34 percent) and Indonesia (35
percent).
"The Philippines nearly cut its child death
rate in half since 1990. The health ministry, through USAID (US
Agency for International Development) support, launched a number
of health initiatives in 1989, including a push to increase
access to oral rehydration therapy to treat diarrhea," David Oot,
who heads the group's global health programs, told reporters.
But inequities were still apparent, the group
said.
The poorest Filipino children were 3.2 times
more likely to go without basic health measures. And Peru,
despite placing second on the list, had the widest gap in child
death rates between the rich and poor - with the poorest
children 7.4 times more likely to die than the richest.
Ethiopia was last in the rankings, followed
by Somalia (82 percent), Chad (78 percent), Yemen (71 percent)
and Laos (69 percent), according to the report.
Some developing countries, including Iraq and
Afghanistan, were not included in the report due to insufficient
data, Save the Children official Mary Beth Powers said.
The report said in terms of sheer numbers, India had the most
children - 67 million - not getting adequate health care,
followed by Nigeria (16 million), Bangladesh (12 million),
Ethiopia (11 million) and Pakistan (10 million). - Reuters
