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