Surviving, but not thriving: WHO/UNICEF global child health study reveals where Australia rates

A new global study of the overall health and future prospects of children has some sobering results for Australia – including one measure in which we rate in the bottom 10 performers overall.

Child welfare: a global study has placed Australia 20th in overall rankings.

A global study of the world’s children has ranked Australia 20th in the overall health and future prospects of its youngest citizens.

The report, by the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and The Lancet, looked at “survive” measures such as maternal mortality, childhood mortality and access to health services, as well as “thrive” measures” including educational achievement, nutrition and protection from violence.

Australia received a 95 per cent rating on “survive” measures and an 85 per cent rating on “thrive” measures, putting it at 90 per cent on a combined “flourishing” measure.

Norway was ranked number one, followed by South Korea, The Netherlands and France.

The UK was ranked tenth, while Canada was at 21, New Zealand at 32 and the USA at 39.

The co-chair of the reporting commission, former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, said the report revealed all of the 180 nations surveyed needed to “overhaul their approach to child and adolescent health”.

“Despite improvements in child and adolescent health over the past 20 years, progress has stalled, and is set to reverse,” she warned.

Former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark has warned that global standards for child health and welfare could be set to decline. Picture: Alix Sweeney

“It has been estimated that around 250 million children under five years old in low and middle-income countries are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential, based on proxy measures of stunting and poverty. But of even greater concern, every child worldwide now faces existential threats from climate change and commercial pressures.”

The study’s top recommendation was for all countries to “Stop CO2 emissions with the utmost urgency, to ensure children have a future on this planet”.

Australia was ranked the seventh-worst performer of 180 nations for carbon dioxide emissions per capita, behind the USA at eight.

Qatar was rated the worst performer on this scale, followed by Trinidad and Tobago, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and then Australia.

“From the climate crisis to obesity and harmful commercial marketing, children around the world are having to contend with threats that were unimaginable just a few generations ago,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director.

“It is time for a rethink on child health, one which places children at the top of every government’s development agenda and puts their wellbeing above all considerations.”

HOW AUSTRALIA COMPARED

Australia 20

Austria 19

Malta 18

Spain 17

Finland 16

Switzerland 15

Germany 14

Sweden 13

Singapore 12

Luxembourg 11

UK 10

Iceland 9

Belgium 8

Japan 7

Denmark 6

Ireland 5

France 4

Netherlands 3

South Korea 2

Norway 1

Originally published as Surviving, but not thriving: WHO/UNICEF global child health study reveals where Australia rates