Recent studies by a global alliance, including UNICEF and WHO, highlight that the world will fall short of achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3) if newborn care does not undergo a radical transformation. SDG 3 aspires to ensure healthy lives and wellbeing for everyone at all stages. In India, disturbing statistics reveal that for every 1,000 births, there are 25.4 neonatal deaths. This amounts to 0.64 million newborn deaths annually. The SDG for neonatal deaths necessitates a reduction in these figures to 12 or fewer deaths per 1,000 births by 2030.
Key Findings
Each year, approximately 30 million newborns need specialized hospital care. The absence of such care often leads to either death or lifelong health issues and disabilities. Particularly vulnerable are newborns who are born prematurely, have low birth weights, or fall sick shortly after birth. Multiple challenges impede the care of small and sick newborns. These include limited services, barriers to seeking care such as unawareness, transportation difficulties, financial constraints, and discrimination. Furthermore, the emotional and financial burden on families can severely affect a child’s cognitive, linguistic, and emotional development. However, universal access to quality healthcare could potentially save 1.7 million newborns, accounting for 68% of neonatal deaths otherwise expected in 2030. Simultaneously treating the mother and newborn can save as many as 2.9 million women, preventing stillbirths and neonatal deaths in 81 high-burden countries during 2030.
Recommendations
The study suggests several recommendations to ameliorate the situation. These include providing round-the-clock inpatient care for newborns seven days a week and training nurses to work in partnership with families to provide hands-on care. Encouraging family-centered care can boost parents’ skills and competence, thereby reducing stress and anxiety, and promoting the newborn’s weight gain and neurodevelopmental progress. Good quality care should be a priority in country policies, serving as a lifelong investment for those born under adverse circumstances. Countries need to collect, monitor, evaluate, and share data (while ensuring confidentiality and data security) about small and sick newborns for continuous quality improvement, allowing decision-makers to guide investments and actionable insights to improve newborn survival rates and development outcomes.
Table: Key Facts on Neonatal Health
| Fact | Statistic |
|---|---|
| Newborn deaths per 1,000 births in India | 25.4 |
| Newborn deaths annually in India | 0.64 million |
| Newborns requiring specialized care annually | 30 million |
| Potential neonatal deaths preventable by 2030 | 1.7 million |
| Estimated lives saved with simultaneous mother-newborn interventions by 2030 | 2.9 million |
Way Forward
The report delineates a path towards achieving SDG 3 by 2030. It necessitates transforming all elements of newborn care, including availability, quality, uptake, and affordability. This transformation depends on the collective action of various stakeholders, including governments, healthcare professionals, professional associations, private sector organizations, researchers, parents, and communities. By increasing their investment by just $0.20 per capita, low and middle-income countries can prevent two-thirds of neonatal deaths by 2030.
