Melinda Gates with newborn baby at Keleya Community Health Center in Mali

Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, spent a few days this past January visiting Save the Children's newborn and child health programs in Mali. 

The visit helped draw attention to the challenges and opportunities of addressing the under-5 child mortality rate in Mali, a country where more than one child in five does not live to celebrate his or her fifth birthday. Malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea, combined with high levels of malnutrition, account for more than half of these deaths.

Save the Children works with the government of Mali, UNICEF, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other local partners to tackle the high rate of child deaths in Mali through a variety of strategies.

Informed Parents, Healthier Babies

The small village of Keleya lies on the road from Bamako, the capital city, in the Sikasso region. The community health center in town serves Keleya and 22 surrounding villages, nearly 25,000 people. Melinda Gates spent time at the clinic visiting with health workers, mothers and children waiting to receive care.

In a country where 30,000 newborn babies die every year, this region has not been spared.  Save the Children has been working since 2001 to reduce newborn deaths by educating community members on simple changes to protect the health of mothers and their babies.

The key messages promoted at community health centers include: preventing life-threatening hypothermia through drying and wrapping a baby, and delaying the bathing of a newborn; preventing deadly infections through immediate and exclusive breastfeeding; cutting the umbilical cord with a clean razor blade; and promoting overall hygiene during delivery to prevent infections.

Sitan, a traditional birth attendant in the nearby village of Soulouba, told Melinda about the changes in his village over the past five years, explaining that newborn-care training is helping babies stay healthy.

"Now we are better informed and babies are healthier," said Sitan. "People used to bathe newborns directly after birth in cold water, but now we delay this bath. We used to give water and such things to newborns, but now we only give breast milk." 

Recognizing Danger Signs, Fewer Lives Lost

Melinda Gates plastering walls for the health shed.

Melinda also spent time at the Bougouni District Hospital. It is here that mothers and baby can receive care before, during and after birth. It also is where mothers, most of whom give birth at home, are referred if there are birth complications, a life-threatening situation for mother and baby. Dr. Amadoun Yattara of the Bougouni Referral Health Center and a graduate of several Save the Children training programs, said that on average more than 80 women deliver babies at the hospital each month, and nearly 20 percent of these births are by C-section.

As part of Save the Children's newborn care program, traditional birth attendants in nearby villages are trained to recognize danger signs during delivery and to refer mothers experiencing birth complications to Bougouni hospital. But, getting to the hospital can be challenging for families without access to transportation and without money to pay for it. 

Yet, as Dr. Yattara explained to Melinda, community members are working together to address these challenges, leading to differences in health services over the past five years.

"There is a reduction in the delay for emergency care," said Dr. Yattara. "Communities have come together to establish an account to pay for the transport of women from hard-to-reach areas to our District Hospital."

Building a Waiting Area for Pregnant Women

On the final stop of her visit, in the village of Faragouran, Melinda and other Save the Children visitors helped construct a shed at the community health center, which serves more than 8,000 people. The structure will serve as a waiting and training area for pregnant women. Later that day, local officials, religious and traditional leaders and community members gathered for a ceremony to dedicate the shed to the local community.