3-year study identifies key interventions to reduce maternal, newborn, child deaths

A three-year study conducted by the WHO, Aga Khan University, and the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) "has identified key interventions to reduce maternal, newborn and child deaths," PANA/Afrique en Ligne reports. "According to the study … there is global consensus on the key evidence-based interventions that will sharply reduce the 358,000 women who still die each year during pregnancy and childbirth and the 7.6 million children who die before the age of five," the news service writes (12/15).  

"The study reviewed more than 50,000 scientific papers to determine the proven effectiveness of interventions and impact on survival, identifying 56 essential interventions that when implemented in 'packages' relevant to local settings, are most likely to save lives," a WHO press release states. The study "is designed to facilitate decision-making in low- and middle-income countries about how to allocate limited resources for maximum impact on the health of women and children," the press release notes (12/15). According to VOA News, some of the "interventions include prevention and management of postpartum hemorrhaging, prevention of mother-to-children transmission of HIV, use of anti-hypertensive drugs to reduce blood pressure, greater use of caesarean section, immediate thermal care for newborns, and treating children for pneumonia" (DeCapua, 12/15).