Failure to register newborns leaves millions ‘invisible’ warns UN Children’s Fund

UN News India, Ethiopia, Zambia, Chad, Nepal, Bangladesh HNN Team

This article was originally posted on UN News   UNICEF reports that the births of one in four children under-five, or some 166 million children globally, have never been officially recorded. Too many children are “slipping through the cracks,” said Henrietta Fore, the agency’s Executive Director: “A child not registered at birth is invisible – nonexistent … Continued

Why is it difficult to interview young fathers about fatherhood, and why is it important that we keep trying?

Young Lives Peru, Ethiopia, Zambia, India HNN Team

This article was originally published by Young Lives Many researchers hesitate to share difficulties experienced in fieldwork in case the credibility of field teams or of the research findings is called into question. I believe that sharing our experiences will contribute to better research, and therefore benefit all those involved and invested in the research. … Continued

The Women of Rural Zambia Walk Miles to Give Birth

Vice Zambia HNN Team

“I had to use a blanket to cover myself and the whole time I was worried an animal would come and take my baby.” Hariane hadn’t heard the expression “Life is about the journey, not the destination.” To this modest young mother living in rural Zambia, her life, and that of her newborn daughter, was very … Continued

Thrive Networks and Embrace Merge Newborn Health Solutions: Programs Join Forces to Multiply Lifesaving Impact

Afghanistan, Benin, Cambodia, China, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia, Vietnam, South Sudan

Thrive Networks and newborn care innovator Embrace are joining forces to increase the reach and impact of their solutions to a persistent global health challenge: the unacceptably high newborn mortality rate in countries around the globe. 

Zambian Civil Society Launches Alliance to End Maternal and Child Deaths

Zambia HNN Team

The Zambian Government wants to ensure that maternal, neonatal and child health outcomes are enshrined as key goals of national development policies and plans, as enshrined in the Zambian Government’s Roadmap for Accelerating Maternal, Newborn and Child Mortality, 2013-2016.

10,000 Happy Birthdays

Malawi, Zambia HNN Team

ICM and Laerdal Global Health joined hands in an effort to help at least 10,000 mothers and newborn babies survive in Malawi and Zambia by the end of 2016 and make 10,000 happy birthdays.

Steroids Are No Boon to World’s Poorer Women

Guatemala, India, Pakistan, Zambia, Kenya HNN Team

Giving steroids to women who are about to give birth prematurely — a standard lifesaving medical practice in richer countries — may be useless or even dangerous in poor countries where most women give birth at home, amajor new study has found.

Every Newborn in Focus at Ministerial Breakfast

Nepal, Cambodia, Cameroon, China, Rwanda, Zambia HNN Team

An informal breakfast meeting organized by PMNCH, brought together a dozen ministers of health and representatives from the Gates Foundation led by Melinda Gates, to discuss maternal and newborn health with a specific focus on the Every Newborn Action Plan.

New International Pregnancy Research Centers Will Advance Understanding of Preterm Birth

Bangladesh, Zambia HNN Team

The research sites will enroll women early in pregnancy and collect information and biological specimens during their pregnancy and delivery. These data and specimens will be used to advance innovative research into the causes of preterm birth and identify novel strategies for prevention.

Differing Levels of Progress Make Idea of ‘AIDS in Africa’ Obsolete

Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Malawi, Togo, Zambia HNN Team

Progress in the battle against AIDS is widely divergent in different African countries, so much so that to talk about “AIDS in Africa” as one epidemic needing a single approach has become an anachronism, campaigners said on Tuesday.