Rewriting Bungoma’s infant mortality story

Daily Nation (Kenya) Kenya HNN Admin

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

Daily Nation Kenya, South Africa, Brazil HNN Admin

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

World Health Organization Kenya Kenya HNN Admin

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

NBC 2 Kenya HNN Admin

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

Al Jazeera Kenya HNN Admin

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

Standard Media Kenya HNN Admin

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

The key to saving preterm babies

Daily Nation Kenya HNN Admin

Having served as a paediatrician for most of my adult life, including over 25 years as a perinatal/neonatal medicine specialist, I know first-hand the joy and anxiety that comes with giving birth. For first-time mothers, especially, even as they eagerly anticipate the birth of their babies, they are scared – of pain, of complications that … Continued

Would you feed your child with another woman’s breast milk?

Standard Media Kenya HNN Admin

While wet nursing is not a new phenomenon among Kenyan societies, the concept of pooling milk together in a bank is. Women from religious history would breastfeed the children of other women but this would be directly from the breast. Moses of the Bible times and Prophet Mohammed of the Quran both had wet nurses. … Continued

Donated Human Milk: A Lifesaving Option for Vulnerable Infants

County Innovation Challenge Fund Kenya HNN Admin

Kenya loses an estimated 39 infants for every 1000 live births, translating to over 50,000 babies who die before their first birthday each year. More than half of these deaths occur in the neonatal period – the first month of life – most often due to complications related to prematurity and low birth weight[1]. Essential … Continued

Health workers saving preterms with simple interventions

New Vision Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda HNN Admin

A 0.6kg newborn lies peacefully in an incubator at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital. After a routine check from the midwife on duty, all seems well. “It is in good state. I am certain we are going to save this one too,” says the midwife, with fulfilment written on her face. Preterm birth complications according to … Continued