PH slips in State of the World’s Mothers Index; post-Yolanda woes worsen fate of moms, infants

MANILA – The Philippines slipped one rung from last year’s ranking in the annual State of the World’s Mothers Index, international aid agency Save the Children reported Tuesday, as it expressed worry that with only half of the facilities restored six months after typhoon Yolanda, the state of mothers and children in devastated areas could worsen.

The agency unveiled its latest report in a press conference at the Bayleaf Hotel in Manila Tuesday. At 105, the Philippines is tied with Paraguay in terms of lifetime risk for maternal death, educational achievement, economic status, political status, and for children, under-five mortality rate.

Since its 2000 inception, the State of the World’s Mothers Index has seen the Philippines fall five notches from its earlier rank. It is one spot below Iraq, and lags behind neighbors Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is just ahead of Timor Leste, Indonesia, and Laos.

The situation, however, seems more a function of the quicker progress attained by the Philippines’ neighbors. Save the Children-Philippines country director Ned Olney attributed the rankings to the more rapid progress the other Southeast Asian countries are making, despite the 30-percent drop in the Philippines’ lifetime risk for maternal death statistics, and the 26-percent drop in the under-five mortality rate.

He added that Filipino children starting school now can expect to stay there in a slightly less amount of time as compared to Filipino children who started school in 2000.

The rise in the country’s gross national income has also helped bolster its rank, as well as women’s political status, with the elected seats more than doubling from 13 percent in 2000 to 27 percent now.

The report looks at the status of mothers and children in 178 countries. It examines the link between the poor performance on the five indicators and the crises, conflicts, and everyday emergencies faced by mothers and children globally, said Olney.

PH ‘absolutely pounded by typhoons’

The organization chose the Philippines, in which it has been present since 1981, to launch the 15th annual index because the country had been “absolutely pounded by typhoons” in the past three years, he said.

In the aftermath of super typhoon Yoland (Haiyan) , for example, an estimated 750 women were due to give birth each day, according to Save the Children-Philippines Director of Health Dr. Francisca Cuevas. However, until now only 7 percent of health facilities in affected areas are able to provide clean and safe delivery, she said. Only 4 percent of the health facilities have the capacity for newborn resuscitation, as well.

Six months after the disaster, only 50 percent of facilities have been restored.

Some do not have water supply, others lack sterilizing equipment, and still others remain roofless, she said.

“The hospitals are still overwhelmed with a lot of patients,” explained Cuevas, noting that other health facilities still operate out of tents.

Olney estimated that 45,000 infants were born outside health facilities after Yolanda struck.

Poor conditions may kill 15x more than Yolanda did

Citing a study of the impact of typhoons in the Philippines from 1979 to 2008 by New Scientist magazine from November last year, he said it suggested that almost 15 times as many infants may die this year due to deteriorating conditions in wake of Yolanda than those killed by the storm itself.

He added that the same study shows a baby girl’s risk of dying is higher compared to her male counterpart even if she has no siblings. It doubles if she has one or more older sisters, and quadruples if she has brothers. This gender-specific competition for resources in the wake of disasters, said Olney, can add thousands more to the Yolanda death toll.

Venancia Relon, a midwife from Ormoc, attested to just how difficult the situation was in the days and months following the typhoon.

Upon reaching the rural health center, she was “speechless.”

“All my things were destroyed. When I entered the facility, all of my medicine, vaccines, records, and instruments were wrecked.” She remembered being at a loss on what to do. The midwife had to improvise, using only her hands to feel a mother’s stomach and see if the baby inside was normal.

“It was hard because we had no water, food, shelter, and clothing,” she said at the Report’s launch.

By January, the infant vaccines were too limited for the population. “All the midwives were fighting over it,” said Ralon.

BEACON Boxes launched

It is these circumstances which prompted Save the Children to commit an additional P10 million in storm-proof birthing kits called “BEACON Boxes,” which will be provided to the most vulnerable barangays in the country, said Olney.

During disasters, mothers have been forced to give birth at the side of the road or inside their homes. The BEACON (Birthing Essentials And Care Of Newborns) Boxes will help make these births safe and clean.

These kits contain plastic sheets, a tarpaulin, soap, sterile cord ties, sterile blades, clean towels, a birth certificate and a lamp, all in a sturdy box.

Mothers are more likely to be the primary caregiver in families, said Olney. Their strength and resourcefulness are the main reasons children survive in disasters.

Meanwhile, women who die in childbirth leave behind devastated families. Their babies usually don’t survive, or if they do, don’t survive beyond five years old. They also tend to be malnourished and impoverished, said Olney.

State of moms a crucial indicator

The state of a country’s mothers is an indicator of the well-being of an entire nation, he added. This is why targeted investments in girls urgently need to be scaled up.

In a statement, Save the Children called on the Philippine government and civil society to:

* Ensure that every mother and newborn living in crisis has access to quality healthcare,

* Build stronger health systems to minimize the damaging effects of crises on health,

* Develop national and local preparedness plans tailored to respond to the specific needs of the mothers, children, and babies in emergencies, and

* Ensure adequate financing and coordination to timely respond to mothers’ and children’s needs in emergencies.

For its part, Save the Children provided more than 470,000 children and adults with aid in the aftermath of Yolanda.

It is present in Tacloban and Ormoc in Leyte, and underserved Estancia, which Olney dubbed “the Tacloban of Panay.”

It sent medical teams, including nurses, doctors, and mental health workers, in affected areas. It provided construction supplies for shelters, helped reconstruct and repair 31 health facilities, and worked with the Department of Education to rehabilitate schools in time for the opening of classes in June. Through its child-friendly spaces, kids also have a support system as they ease back into their routines before the typhoon struck.

However, said Olney, more needs to be done as even “a medium-sized typhoon” hitting some of the devastated areas will knock these places back to where they were six months ago.

Akbayan chairperson Risa Hontiveros was also present at the launch of the report, and said that each year’s release of the State of the World’s Mothers should be “a day of unifying concern,” much like the State of the Nation Address.

She asked if the tragedy will be proof of the country’s “perpetual vulnerability or disaster resilience.”

With at least 10 million women and children affected by Yolanda, Filipinos must be moved to do something, added Hontiveros.

She advocated for mental healthcare to be incorporated into universal healthcare, given that mothers were raising their children, managing their households, working, and addressing their family’s trauma while suffering their own at the same time.

Mothers must also be educated about breastfeeding, as data showed that more were using formula following the typhoon. The Milk Code bill, said Hontiveros, must be passed into law.

Seeing as how the political status of women has gone up, she rallied female politicians to help pull up the status of Filipina mothers in terms of the other indicators.

At the top of the State of the World’s Mothers rankings is Finland, followed by Norway, Sweden, Iceland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Germany, Australia, and Belgium. The last two are tied at the ninth spot.

At the bottom are Cote d’Ivoire, Chad, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, DR Congo, and the last, Somalia. –Tricia Aquino, InterAksyon.com