Afghan child mortality linked to uneducated mothers (Reuters)
Reuters - High child mortality rates in conservative Afghanistan are linked not just to war but to mothers being uneducated and having little or no say when their children need medical help, a study has found.
All the reports I've seen over the years (I'd rather watch documentaries than any other TV) have said that in countries with high infant mortality rates the best thing to do is educate the women/mothers. You can provide a lot of health care facilities etc but until you educate women it seems to make only a small change to general health. It sort of makes sense as in most cultures women are still in charge of food and home and decisions they make affect all the family. Of course in some cultures you also need to educate the men to allow the women to act on their knowledge/instincts and until that happens I can't see children's health improving - it's sad really.
