Oral antibiotics showed similar efficacy, safety to injectable antibiotics for bacterial infections

Nigeria, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya HNN Team

To compare efficacy of oral amoxicillin vs. injectable procaine benzylpenicillin-gentamicin for treatment of fast breathing, researchers randomized 2,333 infants with fast breathing as the only sign of possible serious bacterial infection to receive either treatment for 7 days.

WHO called to change infant infection guidelines

Nigeria, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya HNN Team

In disadvantaged areas, many children never reach hospital and around 60% of parents refuse hospital treatment for young infants or are unwilling to adhere to treatment regimens of injectable antibiotics.

Simplified Antibiotic Treatment Strategy Could Save Thousands of Babies

Nigeria, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Kenya HNN Team

Now, new, more accessible drug regimens – combining oral and injectable antibiotics – given in outpatient settings appear to be just as effective as hospital care.

Kenya’s First Lady explains why Beyond Zero

Kenya HNN Team

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta’s motivation in her Beyond Zero campaign is to ensure that no woman or child will die due to lack of maternal services.

Kenya: The Aga Khan University Hospital Marks ‘7 Years’ Of Preemie Care

Kenya HNN Team

Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi is home to the first and only Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in the East and Central African region.

India leads in preterm birth complication deaths: Study

Ethiopia, Nigeria, Angola, Bangladesh, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Liberia, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Kenya HNN Team

“We have an epidemic of preterm and newborn deaths that represents one of the greatest health challenges of the 21st century. Two-thirds of these deaths could be prevented without intensive care,” said Francisco.

For Babies, Preterm Birth Is Now The No. 1 Cause Of Death

Ethiopia, Angola, Bangladesh, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Kenya HNN Team

To learn more, Goats and Soda spoke with report co-author Robert Black, the director of the Institute for International Programs at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.

Study: Preterm Birth Complications Leading Cause of Death for Young Children

Ethiopia, Nigeria, Angola, Bangladesh, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Kenya HNN Team

The rise in deaths from preterm birth complications actually coincides with a dramatic decline in the worldwide mortality rate of children under five.

Save the Children Uses World Prematurity Day to Refocus Attention on Newborn Deaths

Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya HNN Team

Save the Children country offices will join more than 200 non-government organizations, UN agencies, medical and health organizations across the world in participating in the 4th World Prematurity Day (WPD).

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.