Messages for World Health Day 2005
Message 2
Healthy mothers and children are the real wealth of societies.
The survival and well-being of mothers and children are not only important in their own right, but are also central to solving much broader economic, social and developmental challenges. When mothers and children die or are sick, their families, communities and nations suffer as well. Improving the survival and well-being of mothers and children will not only increase the health of societies, it will also decrease inequity and poverty.
- Ill-health is one of the principal reasons why households become poor and remain poor (Narayan et al., 2000). Sick mothers and children require increased family expenditure. Fees and other out-of-pocket costs are a significant deterrent for families seeking health care, leading to dangerous delays in seeking help outside the household – particularly for children and pregnant women (OECD & WHO, 2003).
- When a mother is sick or dies, her productive contribution to the home, workforce, economy, and society is lost, and the survival and education of her children are jeopardized. Every year, an estimated one million young children die as a result of the death of their mother (WHO, 2003a). In households where a mother has died during the previous 12 months, children spend significantly less time in school as compared to children from households where the mother has not died.
- Good child health is imperative for economic and social development (World Bank 1993). It is estimated that for every dollar invested in child health, seven dollars are returned through reduced spending on social welfare and increased productivity of young people and adults (World Bank, 1996). When a child is sick or dies, both the child's family and society suffer. Frequent illness and malnutrition negatively affect cognitive development, body size and strength of young children. This reduces final educational achievement as well as productivity and work capacity in later life (Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, 2001).
The economic consequences of poor health and nutrition in childhood, Brazil (height and wages)