South Africa steps up its game to end mother-to-child transmission of HIV

The Conversation South Africa HNN Team

This article was originally published on The Conversation South Africa’s prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme has achieved remarkable successes in recent years. It has improved the health and life expectancy for pregnant women living with HIV, and it has reduced the risk of transmission of the virus to their offspring. HIV can be transmitted during … Continued

Doctors rush to Indian town where children have been dying

ABC News India HNN Team

This article was originally published by ABC News NEW DELHI — India’s health ministry on Friday rushed a team of pediatricians and other medical experts to a western Indian town where more than 100 children have reportedly died in a government-run hospital in the past month. India’s Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the experts will … Continued

UNICEF Estimates 400,000 Babies Will Be Born On New Year’s Day

NPR Pakistan HNN Team

This article was originally published by NPR  The baby girl cooing in a hospital in the Pakistani capital was long awaited. Her mother, Ambreen Saddam, 28, had been trying to conceive for four years. She gave birth at 9 a.m., Islamabad time, Jan. 1, 2020. That date made the birth even sweeter, says Saddam. “It’s … Continued

Kangaroo mother care technology at Mother Baby Unit at PGH boost growth of preterm babies

Standard Digital Kenya HNN Team

This article was originally published by the Standard Digital When Susan Akinyi, 26, from Heshima estate in Nakuru gave birth to her second child, she was worried and confused. The baby was too tiny, with low birth weight of only 900 grammes. It was hard for the mother to cuddle her baby, but a nurse … Continued

Maternal, newborn health at risk in KP’s Shangla due to unregistered clinics, unqualified medics

DAWN Pakistan HNN Team

This article was originally posted on DAWN In November, Attaur Rehman’s 34-year-old sister, who was a mother of six, went into labour. In an effort to get her immediate medical attention, her husband rushed her to a basic health unit where a lady health visitor (LHV) was assigned the case. Recounting his sister’s ordeal, Rehman … Continued

Midwives are a Key Part of any Health Workforce Dream Team

New Security Beat HNN Team

This article was originally published by the New Security Beat “Midwifery is a fix, it is not an add-on,” said Franka Cadée, President of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) at the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25. The World Health Organization designated 2020 the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife in recognition of the invaluable … Continued

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

Mothers and newborns pay the ‘price’ during Zimbabwe medics strike

PRI Zimbabwe HNN Team

This article was originally published by The World   In September, over 500 doctors under the banner of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) went on strike over poor working conditions and inadequate salaries, but it wasn’t until last month that nurses in Harare joined them — further crippling Zimbabwe’s already deteriorating health sector. As a … Continued

Newborn baby girl found buried alive in a clay pot in India gets clean bill of health less than two months later

Daily Mail India HNN Team

This article was originally published by The Daily Mail A newborn baby girl who was found buried alive three feet underground in India has returned to full health less than two months later. The baby girl, whose parents are unknown, was barely breathing when she was rescued by a woman who was at a funeral … Continued

Malaria progress stall continues, but more pregnant women and kids protected

Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy HNN Team

This article was originally published by CIDRAP Though progress against malaria continues to stall, mainly due to funding gaps, the World Health Organization (WHO) in its annual report today highlighted a promising development: more pregnant women and children were protected against the disease. In the report, based on 2018 data, the WHO estimates there were … Continued