India accounts for one-fifth, or approximately 26 million, of the world’s annual births. Since 1990, India’s infant mortality rate (IMR) has declined steadily, but the neonatal mortality rate (NMR) has stagnated. One third of all infant deaths worldwide continue to occur in India each year. India currently accounts for 29% of all first day deaths globally, approximately 300,000 per year. …
RMNCH+A Highlight Series – Translating Strategy into Action Plan in Punjab
The Government of India’s Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A) strategy, launched in 2013, seeks to meet the needs of women and their children at all life stages and across the continuum of care. Meeting this ambitious goal requires a robust and realistic action plan and strong leadership at the state level. Government of Punjab, which has already …
RMNCH+A Highlight Series – Corrective Action for Improved Service Delivery: Rapid Assessment in Uttarakhand
A rapid assessment was conducted in Uttarakhand to assess gaps in availability, accessibility, utilization, and quality and to ensure availability of essential commodities under the RMNCH+A 5×5 matrix. Assessment results provided an adequate evidence base to draw facility improvement plans addressing key gaps through short- and mid-term actions.
RMNCH+A Highlight Series – Using Data for Action: Scorecards and Dashboards to Improve Maternal and Child Health in Jharkhand
While India has made significant progress in reducing maternal and child deaths, rates of progress within the states and districts are unequal. The RMNCH+A strategy emphasizes the effective use of data for planning and implementing interventions to reduce health disparities. A national child survival scorecard using data from national and state surveys was prepared. Dashboards based on the GOI’s health …
RMNCH+A Highlight Series – Capacity Building to Reduce Neonatal Mortality: On-site Training in Uttarakhand
Brief on the highlights of the on-site training in Uttarakhand.
RMNCH+A Highlight Series – Corrective Action for Improved Service Delivery: Rapid Assessment in Uttarakhand
A rapid assessment was conducted in Uttarakhand to assess gaps in availability, accessibility, utilization, and quality and to ensure availability of essential commodities under the RMNCH+A 5×5 matrix. Assessment results provided an adequate evidence base to draw facility improvement plans addressing key gaps through short- and mid-term actions.
Building alliances for improving newborn health in Latin America and the Caribbean
The Pan American Journal of Public Health included an MCHIP co-authored article in its special issue on “Health in the Americas.” The article – entitled “Building alliances for improving newborn health in Latin America and the Caribbean”—presents the findings from an analysis of the regional Latin American and Caribbean Neonatal Alliance and national neonatal alliances in Bolivia, El Salvador and …
Handwashing Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices in Korogocho (Nairobi) and Bondo (Nyanza)
This assessment evaluates the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of mothers of infants under 28 days of age and of health care providers in two disparate, but resource-poor settings in Kenya: a rural area in Bondo (Nyanza) and Korogocho slums (Nairobi). The findings showed that new mothers in urban slums and rural areas do not have sufficient knowledge or do not …
Antenatal corticosteroids to reduce preterm deaths in low-income settings
The Lancet Global Health published an MCHIP co-authored letter titled “Antenatal corticosteroids to reduce preterm deaths in low-income settings.” The letter responds to an article by Kishwar Azad and Anthony Costello in the April 2014 edition of The Lancet Global Health titled “Extreme caution is needed before scale-up of antenatal corticosteroids to reduce preterm deaths in low-income settings.” The letter …
Washing Hands to Save Newborn Lives in Asia and Africa
One-page briefer highlighting qualitative research on the handwashing behavior of mothers and others close to newborns in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Kenya.