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London, Sept 17 (ANI): Rising education levels among women save children’s lives worldwide, reveals a new research.

According to the study from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, women are advancing further in school than at any time in recent history, and the trend is having a tremendous impact on child mortality.

Between 1970 and 2009, mortality in children under age 5 dropped from 16 million to 7.8 million annually.

And IHME researchers estimate that 51pc of the reduction can be linked to increased education among women of reproductive age.

It shows that education is rising in every region. Most dramatically, average years of schooling for women of reproductive age (ages 15 to 44) in developing countries have grown from 2.2 years to 7.2 years.

Globally, women ages 25 and older have seen an increase in education from 3.5 years to 7.1 years, while men in that age range have seen an increase from 4.7 years to 8.3 years.

“We know that direct health interventions, such as immunizations, preventive care, and hygiene classes, are crucial to improving health worldwide,” said Dr. Emmanuela Gakidou, the lead author of the study and Associate Professor of Global Health at IHME.

“What this study shows is that by focusing on education as well, we can increase the impact that we are having on health,” he said.

Led by Gakidou, researchers at IHME gathered data from 915 censuses and national surveys worldwide to create a time series of education levels for 175 countries.

They found 31 countries had improved the average years of schooling of reproductive-age women by more than three years between 1990 and 2009.

This includes several countries in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates.

In seven of the world’s 10 most populous countries, women of reproductive age had on average received more than six years of schooling by 2009, meaning they likely completed primary school.

“More education helps mothers make better choices in a range of areas - personal hygiene, nutrition, parenting approaches,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, IHME Director and one of the paper’s co-authors.

“It also helps them take better care of their own health when pregnant, and, after the child is born, they are able to navigate the expanding array of health services being offered to their families.”

With most children now graduating from primary school, the researchers conclude that further progress in educational attainment will require increases in secondary school attendance. Further study is needed, though, to determine the appropriate level of investment to achieve that goal.

The study will be published online by The Lancet on Sept. 18. (ANI)