Unicef launches 'Every Child Alive' global campaign

Kathmandu: UNICEF, on Tuesday, launched the 'Every Child Alive' global campaign to demand and deliver affordable, quality health-care solutions for every mother and newborn.

Issuing a statement, UNICEF Nepal said that, in low-income countries, the average newborn mortality rate is 27 deaths per 1,000 births.

Newborns from the riskiest places are up to 50 times more likely to die than those from the safest places.

According to the Nepal's Demographic Health Survey 2016, one in 48 babies die in their first 28 days of life in the country, making up to 13,000 newborn deaths every year in the Himalayan nation.

More than 80 per cent of newborn deaths are due to prematurity, complications during birth or infections such as pneumonia and sepsis, according to the report.

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"These deaths can be prevented with access to well-trained midwives, along with proven solutions like clean water, disinfectants, breastfeeding within the first hour, skin-to-skin contact and good nutrition," it said.

However, a shortage of well-trained health workers and midwives means that thousands do not receive the life-saving support they need to survive.

While in Norway there are 218 doctors, nurses and midwives to serve 10,000 people, that ratio is 2.3 per 10,000 in Nepal, the report said.

Through the new campaign, UNICEF is issuing an urgent appeal to governments, health care providers, donors, the private sector, families and businesses to keep every child alive.

IANS