More than half of all neonatal deaths occur in countries with a neonatal mortality rate of 30 or more deaths per 1,000 live births. Many of these countries have experienced recent conflict or humanitarian emergencies, and are hosting refugees.
With the aim to improve newborn care in refugee situations, UNHCR implemented a two-year project “Saving Newborn Lives in Refugee Situations (2016-2018)” with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The project was implemented in three countries: South Sudan, Kenya and Jordan, focusing on low cost, high impact newborn interventions. This document is a summary of the evaluation of this project.
Across all countries, there were noticeable improvements in maternal and child care. The partnership enabled women to seek advice on appropriate treatment of sick and small newborns, access improved infrastructure and services, and adapt their behaviours to ensure healthy pregnancies.