Contact: Georgia Bushman (203) 221-3757 (o) (914) 319-6269 (cell)

Washington, D.C. — To save children you have to start by saving their mothers. This is the key finding of a new report issued by Save the Children. The report, entitled "State of the World's Mothers," contends that the single most effective way to improve the lives of children in the next millenium will be to invest in programs and policies that change the status of women, and in particular, mothers.

Save the Children, one of the world's leading international child assistance organizations, is releasing the report to coincide with Mother's Day, as part of its larger effort to educate the world's citizenry on the needs of children. The organization bases the report on its nearly 70 years experience working in 75 countries around the world, where it has served millions of children and families. The report:

• Details the facts of the relationship: A mother's well being directly impacts the well-being of her children. For example, in developing countries a mother's death during childbirth very often means death for her infant. Children who do survive their mother's death are 10 times more likely to die within two years. If children survive into childhood, they are less likely to attend school, complete their education, or receive adequate healthcare.
   
• Argues for five key changes in policy that will affect the status of women and mothers, and thereby improve children's lives. Specifically, the report calls for:
   
  1. Increasing the legal age of marriage to improve girl's chances of completing primary school and support policies that allow pregnant girls to stay in school.
  2. Ensuring that all adolescents have access to sexual and reproductive health education.
  3. Expanding legal protections to ensure young women and adolescent girls are protected from coercion and forced sex and prostitution.
  4. Creating regulatory environments that support women entrepreneurs.
  5. Making development aid predicated upon recipient government's efforts to improve the status of women.
  
   
• Tells the hopes and dreams of mothers from around the world including the United States, Bolivia, Vietnam, Mali, Lebanon, and Nepal. These and other mothers, along with their children, play an important role in the design and implementation of Save the Children's programs which are rooted in a development approach that is tailored to the needs of the communities where it works.

Key Areas Examined in Report

The report examines five key areas that affect children's lives - health, education, economic opportunity, food security, and U.S. based after-school support — critiquing the relationship between mother's welfare and children's status. In each of these areas, all based on Save the Children's direct experience, the report examines the current situation, details practical experience that shows how a change in women's status directly affects her children, and argues for policy and program change. Principal points made in each of these areas include:

• Health. A mother's death almost always means death for her infant, and children who survive their mother's death are up to 10 times more likely to die within two years than children with living parents. Also, when mothers die in childbirth, their surviving children are less likely to attend school regularly, complete their education, or receive sufficient health care. Family planning also saves children's lives; children born less than two years after a sibling are twice as likely to die as infants born at least two years apart.
   
• Education. The more education a mother has, the less likely the children are to die. Children of educated mothers are better nourished and healthier, and are more likely to be educated and literate themselves. In addition, educated women have more power to make decisions, about their own lives and those of their children. Literacy and numeracy make it far more likely that women will get good paying jobs, or launch and manage small businesses.
   
• Economic Opportunity. When mothers are able to earn money, children are healthier and better educated. This is because mothers generally use their income to improve family welfare - paying for more nutritious foods, health care, and school supplies. Women are also good financial investments; those who borrow generally have loan repayment rates in excess of 95%, while also demonstrating that they are as good at business as they are at raising children.
   
• Food Security. The nutritional status of mothers before and during pregnancy is crucial to the healthy development of their children. Malnutrition in a pregnant woman can result in low birthweight infants - which can often lead to subsequent problems for children. Children born underweight are less likely to survive and thrive than normal weight babies, and are more likely to develop serious cognitive or physical problems. Increasing the control the world's mothers have over food production can significantly reduce maternal and child malnutrition over the long term.
   
• After-School Support. Quality, accessible after-school care is a key to helping poor mothers, including teen mothers, and their children succeed. When after-school programs are available, mothers can work without worrying about their children's safety, and thus focus their energies on supporting their families and helping to lift their households out of poverty. Out-of-school time care also is increasingly seen as essential for child development. Studies show that children who participate in constructive after-school activities are more likely to do well in school and build strong social skills. Children who have consistent relationships with positive, caring adults are half as likely as other kids to skip school, and almost half as likely to start using illegal drugs.

Save the Children is an international nonprofit child assistance organization whose mission is to make lasting, positive change in the lives of children in need. Save the Children operates health, education, economic opportunity, and humanitarian response programs in 40 countries worldwide, including the United States

Note to Editors: Media interviews can be scheduled with program experts by contacting Georgia Bushman at 203 221 3757