India Joins UN Network to Prevent Maternal, Newborn and Child Deaths by 2030.

India has become one of the nine members of the new ‘Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health’ that aims to improve the quality of care for new mothers and babies.

• The global health network is supported by World Health Organisation (WHO), UN International Children’s Fund (Unicef) and other partners.
• Besides India the other member nations of the network includes, Bangladesh, A Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda.
• The main aim of the network is to strengthen national efforts to improve the quality of care for new mothers and babies so that countries can achieve the Sustainable Development Goals targets to end preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths by 2030.

About the ‘Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health’

The first 9 member countries in the network will work to improve the quality of care mothers and babies receive in their health facilities.

• The Countries will achieve the goal by strengthening capacity. They will motivate the health professional to plan and manage quality improvement, improve data collection and increase access to medicines, supplies, equipment and clean water.
• The countries in the network are committed to identify the actions they will take to improve quality of care and will work with partners to deliver the vision of quality that encompasses values of equity and dignity.
• Further, to achieve this, respective nation’s government will build and strengthen their national institutions, identify quality of care focal points at all levels of the health system, accelerate and sustain the implementation of quality-of-care improvement packages for mothers, newborns and children
• With the help of a global learning platform, the Network will build a community of health practitioners from the facility level and develop evidence-based strategies to improve quality of care, harvest implementation ideas, and collect information and experiences about what is working.
• Utilising WHO’s Standards for improving quality of maternal and newborn care in health facilities, published in 2016,
• The countries within the Network will work to improve patients’ health care utilising WHO’s Standards for improving quality of maternal and newborn care in health facilities, published in 2016.
• The new standards provide a quality of care framework which will help countries ensure their services are safe, effective, timely, efficient, equitable and people-centered.
• As per the WHO, the period around childbirth is the most critical for saving mothers and newborns, and preventing stillbirths.
• Nearly, 303 000 women die during pregnancy and childbirth each year worldwide while 2.7 million babies die during the first 28 days of life and 2.6 million babies are stillborn.
• Thus a quality care is needed during pregnancy and childbirth to prevent most of these deaths.

About World Health Organization (WHO)

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health. The WHO is a member of the United Nations Development Group.

• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
• Founded: 7 April 1948
• Head: Margaret Chan