Newborn baby deaths in Africa targeted in $68M initiative
This story was originally published by EurekAlert citing Rice University. Hundreds of thousands of babies could be saved through a major global health initiative launched here today to improve newborn hospital care throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Almost half of childhood deaths occur in the first four weeks of life, and newborns in sub-Saharan Africa are nearly … Continued
Why Kenyan women and their babies are still dying at childbirth
This article was originally published by Daily Nation (Kenya) here. By Dorothy Otieno Medical care for new mothers and their babies is in a sorry state, with doctors, nurses and clinical officers routinely ignoring clinical guidelines and lacking skills to treat and manage complications, reveals a NationNewsplex investigation. Lack of essential drugs and limited access … Continued
100 mothers benefit from safe delivery initiative in city slum
This article was originally published by Standard Media (Kenya) here. By Diana Kimanzi Caroline Gatakaa, who recently delivered a baby boy at Lengo Medical Clinic in Mukuru Kayaba slum in Nairobi, is one of the 100 mothers who received maternal care packages donated by Toto Care Box. “I am humbled to be among the women who … Continued
Kenya hopes its first human milk bank will save infants’ lives
This article was originally published by Quartz Africa here. By Annabelle Timsit Every morning at Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi, a group of new mothers files into a spacious room housing Kenya’s first human milk bank. The room, freshly-painted aqua blue and bustling with nurses, is lined on either side with private lactation booths separated … Continued
Rewriting Bungoma’s infant mortality story
This article by Evans Ongwae originally appeared in Daily Nation (Kenya) here. Through a targeted collaborative newborn support project, Mount Kenya University (MKU) and its partners are rewriting Bungoma County’s infant mortality story. The sad tale of the county losing 32 newborns for every 1,000 live births, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey … Continued
Kenya’s first human milk bank finally ready to save babies’ lives
Had Alice Onyango given birth at another time, things would have been different. She would have had to express milk from her aching engorged breasts – the milk that her preterm baby had no energy to suckle – and pour it down the drain. But the mother of three gave birth last week at Pumwani … Continued
Kenya now eliminates maternal and neonatal tetanus
Kenya has attained maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination status, MNTE, following a successful WHO-led validation process in 2018 to confirm the elimination of the disease. The process was preceded by a pre-validation assessment in September 2017 done by the Ministry of Health with the support of WHO and UNICEF. Elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus … Continued
EarlySense Selected by Save the Children for an Evaluation of Neonatal Health Monitoring Technologies in Africa
WOBURN, Massachusetts, Feb. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — EarlySense, the market leader in contact-free continuous monitoring solutions across the care continuum, announced today that it has been selected for a pilot project with Save the Children, an international nonprofit that works in 120 countries. This work is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda … Continued
To avoid stillbirths, women in Kenya bribe overworked doctors
Nairobi, Kenya – After Anne Khasakalla suffered two stillbirths in 2014 and 2015, she looked for a solution that would provide her with better healthcare. Friends told her that pregnant women in Kenya have to pay bribes to doctors and nurses to escape long queues of mothers waiting to deliver their babies. “During my first … Continued
Newborns’ lives at risk in Nakuru as TB jab gets scarce
Newborns are at risk of contracting Tuberculosis (TB) due to lack of vaccines. The county has been facing a shortage of Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccines for the past one month. Private hospitals have not been spared because the vaccines are supplied by the national government, through the National Vaccination Programme (NVP). “Newborn babies are at … Continued