Rewriting Bungoma’s infant mortality story

Daily Nation (Kenya) Kenya HNN Team

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

Strengthening ANC and PNC Service Delivery and Innovations: Request for Concept Note [Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation]

HNN Team

Timeline: 10 June 2019 (Concept Note Due) The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) strategy aims to expand coverage of packages of interventions that are tailored to vulnerable populations to reduce preventable maternal and neonatal deaths. One of our priority focus areas is antenatal and postnatal care (ANC and PNC) … Continued

With Help From UNICEF and Partners, Chad Eliminates MNT

UNICEF Chad HNN Team

Wonderful news for newborns and mothers in Chad, and everyone who cares about them: Maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) has been declared eliminated in Chad. On behalf of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Jean-Bosco Ndihokubwayo, WHO Representative in Chad, presented the official certificate of merit to Chad’s Minister of Public Health, Mahamet Aziz Saleh, … Continued

Portable kit to treat babies with jaundice goes on trial in Peru

The Guardian Peru HNN Team

Health workers in a remote province high in the Peruvian Andes are trialling a revolutionary method to treat babies with jaundice – with nothing more than a colour-coded ruler, blood reader and carrycots. Their goal is to screen, diagnose and treat jaundice in 12,000 newborns over the next two years in a country where 90% … Continued

In South Sudan, Midwives Bring Down Deaths Despite the Odds

Associated Press South Sudan HNN Team

JUBA, South Sudan — Seated in a stifling hallway in South Sudan’s main hospital, the midwife recounted the day she watched a young mother bleed to death after giving birth. “She died while holding my hand,” said Aber Evaline, hanging her head. Her patient was one of more than 40 women who died in Juba’s … Continued

First-Of-Its-Kind Development Impact Bond Launched in Cameroon to Save Newborn Babies

Grand Challenges Canada Cameroon HNN Team

Photo Credit: Siegfried Modola / Save the Children Money will fund scale up of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) in Cameroon to help newborns survive and thrive; The Cameroon Kangaroo Mother Care Development Impact Bond (Cameroon KMC DIB) aims to reach more than 2,200 newborns with life-improving care; The investor, Grand Challenges Canada, will provide the … Continued

Kenya’s first human milk bank finally ready to save babies’ lives

Daily Nation Kenya, South Africa, Brazil HNN Team

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

Consultation: Strengthening quality midwifery education

World Health Organization HNN Team

Strengthening quality midwifery education for Universal Health Coverage 2030 Global online consultation Have your voices heard! Check out the evidence, let us know what is missing. Find out what the global consultations have prioritized for action. Do you think the new 7-Step Action Plan addresses the key activities needed. Tell us how YOU will make … Continued

Preterm birth study completes emergency obstetrics training at six Ugandan hospitals

Makerere University Centre of Excellence for Maternal Newborn and Child Health Uganda HNN Team

An expectant mother is ushered into the maternity ward. Noticeably, she is in pain. She is quickly reviewed by a midwife. Although her gestation is 37 weeks, she is told she is in the second stage of labour and should be delivering shortly. She is a preterm labour case and is being treated as an … Continued

Global Financing Facility and partners launch a call for proposals to scale up innovations to save women and newborns’ lives

Global Financing Facility HNN Team

WASHINGTON, DC – The Global Financing Facility (GFF) today announced a call for proposals to support countries with high maternal and newborn mortality to scale up proven innovations to reduce maternal and newborn mortality around and just after birth. This responds to increasing demand from countries to expand and sustain innovations that support their health … Continued