Vietnam suffers sharp drop in Mothers’ Index

Despite falling seven places on the index, the country remains ahead of regional neighbours the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

The index is a part of an annual report of State of the World’s Mothers which compares 178 countries, showing which are succeeding – and which are failing – in saving and improving the lives of mothers and their children.

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.

Over the past 15 years, Vietnam has seen maternal mortality halved, child mortality cut by a quarter, expected years of schooling increased by 1.5 years, and gross national income per capita increase almost four-fold.

“Vietnam has made tremendous progress in maternal and child health over the past 15 years. This is a result of strong political will and a willingness to invest in healthcare, amongst other essential children’s services,” says Gunnar Andersen, Country Director for Save the Children in Vietnam.

“But we should also be concerned about the dip in its rankings,” he adds.

“Vietnam is vulnerable to typhoons and seasonal floods, which have become more severe in recent years due to climate change. Natural disasters cause widespread devastation, destruction of homes and loss of crops, livestock and machinery which in turn can cause a spike in malnutrition, school dropouts, and a decrease in the usage of paid health services,” says Gunnar Andersen.

Save the Children has been working in Vietnam for about 20 years, responding to all major disasters, most recently Typhoon Wutip and Typhoon Nari.

 The children’s aid agency provided the worst-affected children and families with cash grants in the aftermath of those disasters, to help them repair homes, buy essential food and medicine, as well as help them continue sending their children to school.