Maternal and Newborn Health Strategy
USAID implements a multi-pronged approach to maternal health
and newborn health, which supports integrated programs to serve women and
children in the stages of pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, delivery, and early childhood.
These approaches are outlined in both USAID's maternal health strategy and the
Agency's child health strategy.
Maternal Health Strategy
Key Principles
Community Practices and Mobilization
Quality Services
Policy and Resources
Research
Health Systems Strengthening
Child Health Strategy
Key Principals
USAID's approach to improving newborn health outcomes in
outlined in the Agency's child health strategy as well as its maternal health
strategy. Specifically, the child health strategic objective, increased use
of key child health and nutrition interventions, aims to improve child health
and nutrition by focusing on developing and utilizing low-cost interventions
that are the primary causes of child illness and death. Under this objective,
USAID invests in the development, evaluation, and scaling-up of interventions
with higher impact on newborn survival.
Currently, USAID invests in the expansion of community-based
newborn care initiatives and the development of educational materials for
health providers. These materials include training curricula, clinical guidelines,
and standards of care. The Agency also works to improve the quality of facility-based
newborn care, and supports the disbursement of newborn-related child survival
and health grants to private voluntary organizations (PVOs).
USAID also invests in the development and evaluation of
new and improved newborn health interventions. For example, the Agency supports
programs to improve the survival of low birth weight babies and treat potentially
deadly infections. In India, USAID supports a program that utilizes an innovative
single-use syringe technology for the injection of the antibiotic Gentamicin.
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