Best Countries For A Child To Fall Sick In

Best Countries For A Child To Fall Sick In

No one ever wants to see a child become sick -- but, if he or she does, what's the No. 1 country for that to happen, based on how many health-care workers are available to take care of the child?

Not the United States, according to a ranking of 161 countries, compiled by the nonprofit Save the Children. You can find the full ranking here.

The index is based on the number of health care workers (like doctors, nurses and midwives) available for every 10,000 people in a country, as well as their reach and impact on the population. It also factors in the proportion of kids who get vaccinated, as well as mothers who are able to get emergency care during childbirth.

According to the World Health Organization, 23 health care workers per 10,000 people is optimal for mothers and kids to receive the care they need. The U.S. has about 125 health workers for every 10,000 people, coming in at No. 15, according to the Save the Children index.

The bottom-ranking countries on the list were Somalia and Chad, with an average of seven health workers for every 10,000 people.

In some of these bottom-ranked countries, health workers are highly concentrated in urban or city areas, thereby making it hard for people in rural environments to get health care, Save the Children reported.

Here are the 10 countries that ranked at the top, for health worker reach and impact -- making them the best countries for a child to fall sick in, according to this scale.

Best: No. 10 Germany

best and worst countries for a child to get sick

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