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With USAID Support Kazakhstan Adopts Live Birth Definition
On March 1, the Government of Kazakhstan endorsed a plan for the country’s transition to the live birth criteria, recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Nationwide registration of newborns according to the new criteria will start in January 2008. The application of these criteria will enable Kazakhstan to compare its statistics with other countries and, in turn, will improve medical interventions to reduce infant mortality. Representatives from USAID, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UNICEF, and WHO have been invited to participate in a Ministry of Health’s commission that oversees the introduction of the criteria nationally. USAID will also provide training of trainers on the new criteria to support the transition.
USAID, through a partnership with CDC, has been assisting the Government of Kazakhstan to introduce the WHO criteria since 2002. With USAID support, a pilot model was developed and implemented in ten maternity houses in Almaty City and Oblast. All newborns weighing 500 grams and with 22 weeks of gestation (instead of the 1000 grams and 28 weeks that was required under the former system) were registered as births. Due to the initiative, the official statistic for infant mortality in pilot facilities has increased at least twice, compelling the facilities to make important changes to improve maternal and newborn care. USAID also helped revise some regulatory and reporting documents and provided training to the pilot staff.
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The new criteria recognize all newborns weighing 500 grams and with 22
weeks of gestation as births
Photo Credit: CDC |
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