Each year nearly I9,500 newborns die and I,200 women die from complications related to pregnancy in Nepal. On track to meet Millennium Development Goal 4 for child survival, Nepal has made tremendous strides in improving outcomes for newborns over the past decade with 30 % decrease in newborn deaths from 2000 to 20I0.
Funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Save the Children’s Saving Newborn Lives (SNL) program has supported the Government of Nepal to meet MDG 4, contributing to the development of several national policies and plans like National Health Strategy endorsed in 2004 which established policies to guide programs for newborns and mothers.
SNL was one of the key partners of Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) in initiating national roll out of Community Based Newborn Care Package (CB-NCP). It focuses on improving availability and quality of newborn care in the community, where most newborn deaths occur. It enhances skills of Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) to provide newborn care in the community and link people to the health center. CB-NCP focuses on behavior change communication, promotion of institutional and clean delivery, postnatal care through home visits on days I, 3, and 7, community-based infection management, low birth weight care, prevention and management of hypothermia, and community-based management of birth asphyxia with stimulation and resuscitation.
The Government, Save the Children, Care, Plan and Unicef piloted CB-NCP in I0 districts initially. Findings from the pilot has been used to inform the scale up of the package, which is intended to reach all 75 districts by 20I5. Save the Children overlooked implementation of CB-NCP in Bardiya, also a first pilot district. Here are glimpses of some of the successes from Bardiya.