What is Every Newborn?

Reading from some review reports from some secondary health centres, it emerges that more newborn deaths are recorded compared to maternal deaths and this could be attributed to the fact that facilities often underplay the relevance of investing in newborn care. It is against some of this background that the international community is calling on […]

Reading from some review reports from some secondary health centres, it emerges that more newborn deaths are recorded compared to maternal deaths and this could be attributed to the fact that facilities often underplay the relevance of investing in newborn care. It is against some of this background that the international community is calling on all stakeholders to reinvest in newborn.
What is every newborn and who is it for?
Every Newborn: an action plan to end preventable deaths is a roadmap for change. It takes forward the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health by focusing specific attention on newborn health and identifying actions for improving their survival, health and development. The process starts from consultations in multiple high-burden countries to gain better understanding of context and specific bottlenecks for scale up. Every Newborn brings together this country learning with the latest global available knowledge on effective interventions and delivery approaches, enabling policymakers and program managers to take action to accelerate progress. It will set out a clear vision, supported by mortality targets for 2035 and other interim targets, outlining strategic actions, innovations and opportunities, sharing evidence on costs and impact of interventions, and setting out roles for all actors.
Every Newborn builds on the recommendations of Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed for Child Survival (APR), and will contribute towards the APR target of 20 or less under-five deaths per 1000 live births in each country by 2035. The plan also takes to action the recommendations of the United Nations Commission on Lifesaving Commodities for Women’s and Children’s Health, the goals of the Family Planning 2020 initiative and the United Nations Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health.
Every Newborn involves all stakeholders who can make a difference for newborn health. Foremost, it aims to support government leadership and the actions of policymakers and program managers and provides technical guidance to inform the sharpening of existing health sector plans and reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) strategies, if required. Key partners also include health professional associations, academic institutions, multi-lateral and bilateral agencies, foundations, the private sector and civil society, including women’s and parent’s organizations, to ensure broad ownership.
Key themes of Every Newborn: an action plan to end preventable deaths.
1. “Focus on care during labour, birth and the first days of life; One-third of stillbirths and 75% of newborn deaths occur within this period. Many complications can be prevented by ensuring high quality, essential care for every pregnant woman and every newborn around the time of childbirth and in the first hours and days of life.
2. Prioritize high impact, cost-effective interventions for mother and baby together, to tackle the main causes of mortality; Complications from prematurity, intrapartum-related deaths including birth asphyxia, and neonatal infections are the leading causes of newborn mortality. Using the platform of essential care for every pregnant women and baby, the main causes of newborn deaths can be prevented and managed with affordable interventions at scale.
3. Quality of care is essential; competent health care providers, particularly skilled birth attendants, are an essential requirement for providing care for both the woman and her baby. However, even where rates of skilled attendance at births are improving, the quality of care often remains poor as women and newborns do not receive all essential interventions that they may need. Investments to ensure that staff and services are trained, equipped and supported to meet required standards of care are essential.
4. Achieve universal coverage and equity; Access to quality care around childbirth is marked by great inequities, affecting vulnerable and deprived populations, in both urban and rural settings. Closing this equity gap within countries alone can save many maternal and newborn lives. The evidence of approaches to move towards universal coverage of the effective interventions is rapidly increasing, including health financing, use of information technology, and other innovations to address bottlenecks and reduce inequities.
5. Count every newborn – measurement, oversight and accountability; Measurement empowers managers to identify and address performance problems, make adjustments along the course, and account for commitments. Standardized indicators and targets can improve accountability and contribute to quality improvement.
6. Harness the power of parents, families and communities; Education and information are key to empowering parents, families and their communities to demand quality care. Evidence has shown the power of engaged community leaders, women’s groups, and community workers in turning the tide for better newborn outcomes.
7. Integrate newborn action into existing RMNCH initiatives and efforts ;Building and strengthening existing plans and processes will be critical to action in countries; thus ensuring integration of newborn action within existing RMNCH initiatives and efforts.
8.      Action by all – leadership, political will and financing; Many different constituents can make a difference in ensuring that every pregnancy is wanted and healthy, every pregnant woman survives, and every newborn makes a healthy start in life to become a thriving child who can fulfil his/her full development potential. Advocacy has a key role to play in mobilising political will and leadership.”
Let’s rally to support “Every Newborn” for the survival of our children and sustainable development.
All comments to Dr Aminu Magashi at [email protected]