Ending preventable newborn deaths in a generation

Abstract

The end of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) era was marked in 2015, and while maternal and child mortality have been halved, MGD 4 and MDG 5 are off-track at the global level. Reductions in neonatal death rates (age <1 month) lag behind those for post-neonates (age 1-59 months), and stillbirth rates (omitted from the MDGs) have been virtually unchanged. Hence, almost half of under-five deaths are newborns, yet about 80% of these are preventable using cost-effective interventions. The Every Newborn Action Plan has been endorsed by the World Health Assembly and ratified by many stakeholders and donors to reduce neonatal deaths and stillbirths to 10 per 1000 births by 2035. The plan provides an evidence-based framework for scaling up of essential interventions across the continuum of care with the potential to prevent the deaths of approximately three million newborns, mothers, and stillbirths every year. Two million stillbirths and newborns could be saved by care at birth and care of small and sick newborns, giving a triple return on investment at this key time. Commitment, investment, and intentional leadership from global and national stakeholders, including all healthcare professionals, can make these ambitious goals attainable.

The Global Network Neonatal Cause of Death algorithm for low‐resource settings

“…When we used the Global Network Cause of Death algorithm to analyse data from this population‐based community study, we found that the distribution of the causes of neonatal death was similar to that reported in the literature for the four main causes .…”

Practice of skin‐to‐skin contact, exclusive breastfeeding and other newborn care interventions in Ethiopia following promotion by facility and community health workers: results from a prospective outcome evaluation

“…Although both the under‐five and neonatal mortality rates dropped substantially, newborn deaths decreased at a slower rate and the proportion of under‐five deaths that occurred during the newborn period rose from 27 to 47% during this period . To address the relatively high neonatal mortality rate, and work towards ending preventable deaths by 2035 , there is a need for Ethiopia to implement effective interventions and strategies targeting newborn survival.…”

How to Save 1 Million Lives in a Year in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

“…The resuscitation and immediate newborn care packages have been estimated to be the most effective at reducing childhood mortality [20] (Table 1). Some estimates indicate that as many as over a million lives per year could be saved with these programs [21,22]. Furthermore, packages of interventions for: (1) the detection and management of severe childhood illnesses such as diarrhea, pneumonia, meningitis and malaria, (2) improvement in nutrition, and (3) vaccination could be as effective in selective settings.…”