“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,” reads a press statement issued by the Save the Children on Tuesday.
Nepal was one of the toughest places in the world to be a mother, ranking in the bottom 10 on the Mothers´ Index in 2000, 2002 and 2005.
Finland was ranked the best place to be a mother in for the second straight year and Somalia came 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,” says David Wright, country director for Save the Children in Nepal.
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.
The report shows that maternal mortality has 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 in Nepal.