Ethiopia: Referral adherence for sick newborns with possible severe bacterial infection and quality of care at health facilities

A core element of Ethiopia’s Community-Based Newborn Care (CBNC) program is early identification and management of young infants with very severe disease. Appropriate treatment of such cases requires a well-functioning and responsive referral system. This brief describes a study on referral adherence, undertaken by Save the Children in support of the Federal Ministry of Health in 2016, to understand the existing referral system and families’ adherence to referral of newborns with very severe disease.