| Azlan Othman |

BRUNEI Darussalam has been ranked the second-best country in ASEAN for a child to live in after Singapore, according to Save the Children, a UK-headquartered organisation that aims to improve the lives of children throughout the world.

Globally, the Sultanate stands at 63rd spot for 2019, leapfrogging 15 places from its placing in 2000. The country’s Childhood Index score for this year is 907 out of 1,000, compared to 892 back in 2000.

Brunei was categorised as having low under-five mortality rate (per 1,000) at 10.5 per cent; and 19.7 per cent of child stunting (among children aged zero to 59 months).

Brunei’s commitment to basic healthcare and universal health coverage is apparent through a number of achievements under the Millennium Development Goals 2015 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030, such as declining Maternal Mortality Ratio; achieving the target for the Under-5 Mortality Rate; achieving immunisation coverage above SDGs targets, which is more than 95 per cent of children under the age of five being immunised every year; and the declaration of Brunei by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as malaria-free in 1987, polio-free in 2000, measles-free in 2015, and rubella-free in November 2018.

Save the Children’s Global Childhood Report 2019 takes a look at indicators such as children’s healthcare, education, nutrition and protection.

Singapore has been ranked as the best country in the world for a child to live in for the second year in a row. It not only managed to beat the likes of Sweden and South Korea for the top spot, but is also miles ahead of any other ASEAN member country in the rankings.

Singapore, which scored 989 out of a maximum 1,000 points in the End of Childhood Index, performed the best among all countries in all eight categories: child death, malnutrition, access to education, child labour, child marriage, teen pregnancy, displacement due to conflicts, and child homicide.

Save the Children’s third annual End of Childhood Index compares the latest data for 176 countries – more than any other year – and assesses where the most and fewest children are missing out on childhood. Eight Western European countries and South Korea also rank in the top 10, attaining very high scores for children’s health, education and protection status. Central African Republic ranks last among the countries surveyed, scoring 394.

The 10 bottom-ranked countries – eight from West and Central Africa – are a reverse image of the top, performing poorly on most indicators.

Children in these countries are the least likely to fully experience childhood, a time that should be dedicated to emotional, social and physical development, as well as play.

Low index rankings also highlight the challenges of armed conflict and poverty. Nine of the bottom 10 countries are low-income, and six of the bottom 10 are fragile and conflict-affected states.