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also reports on the intra-OIC differences in life expectancy using two approaches: by identifying
the best and worst performing OIC member in 2011-2015 period and by highlighting differences
across the three OIC groups. The difference between the best performer, Lebanon (male 78 years and
female 81), and the worst performer, Sierra Leone (male 51 years and female 52), underscores the
extreme discrepancy in life expectancy achievements among the OIC member countries. The intra-
group averages in Table 2 further underscore that these differences in fact persist at the regional level
(we made the same point earlier using thematic maps i . In other words, the African group
of OIC countries had trailed behind the Arab and Asian groups throughout the 20-year period
considered here.
Table 3: Life expectancy trends in in OIC member countries.
Life expectancy at
birth, female
(years)
Low OIC
average
High African
group
Arab
group
Asian
group
2011-2015 52.4 68.8 81.4 57.2 73.0 72.3
(Sierra
Leone)
(Lebanon)
2006-2010 67.4 54.6 72.1 71.0
2001-2005 65.7 51.6 70.9 69.4
1996-2000 64.1 49.2 69.6 67.7
Life expectancy at
birth, male (years)
Low OIC
average
High African
group
Arab
group
Asian
group
2011-2015 51.3 65.4 78.0 54.9 69.1 68.5
(Sierra
Leone)
(Lebanon)
2006-2010 64.0 52.6 68.2 67.2
2001-2005 62.5 49.6 67.1 65.8
1996-2000 61.0 47.0 65.9 64.5
Maternal mortality rate (MMR) is defined as the number of women who die from pregnancy-related
causes while pregnant or within 42 days of pregnancy termination per 100,000 live births. MMR is a
routinely monitored indicator for demand for health services needed by the women in a country.
aps most recent MMR data for OIC countries which range from a low of 4 in Kuwait in 2015
to a high of 1360 in Sierra Leone also in 2015. The map highlights a geographic clustering of OIC
member countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with alarmingly high MMR statistics. Overall, there are 11
OIC countries with MMR greater than 551 and 13 with MMR lower than 25.
in its bottom panel, maps skilled birth attendance in OIC countries. The indicator on skilled
birth attendance measures the percentage of births attended by personnel trained to give the
necessary supervision, care, and advice to women during pregnancy, labour, and the postpartum
period; to conduct deliveries on their own; and to care for newborns. It provides important
information regarding whether a woman of reproductive age was able to access safe pregnancy care.
Note how similar the top (MMR) and bottom (skilled attendance) panels are in Figure 2. Making sure
that a trained health worker oversees all births is the single most important means of preventing
maternal (and newborn) deaths.