Study Highlights Low-Cost Solutions that Significantly Decreased Newborn Deaths in Bangladesh

WESTPORT, Conn. (Feb. 11, 2009) — An article presenting the dramatic results of a Save the Children-funded newborn study received The Lancet Paper of the Year award on Jan. 24 after 21,556 votes were cast online by readers.  Two other papers also received the award from the prestigious medical journal. 

The article, "Effect of community-based newborn-care intervention package implemented through two service-delivery strategies in Sylhet district, Bangladesh: a cluster-randomised controlled trial," reported a one-third (34 percent) reduction in newborn mortality in a study area in Sylhet, Bangladesh, when mothers and newborns received care at home, compared to when they sought care at hospitals or clinics. The home care was provided through visits by local women — many with no formal health background — who underwent a six-week training to learn childbirth preparedness and essential newborn care.  

"Public health and global health matter," wrote The Lancet editors in a comment in the Jan. 24 issue. "The Projahnmo Study Group, led by Abdullah Baqui, reports a complex intervention that decreased neonatal mortality by one-third. Such efforts have helped to reduce annual worldwide mortality in under-5-year-olds from nearly 13 million in 1990 to less than 10 million in 2007."

A newborn in Bangladesh is wrapped up for warmth.

"We're honored to receive this recognition from The Lancet and its readers," said Massee Bateman, director of Save the Children's Saving Newborn Lives program.  "The study shows that simple, low-cost services and education, delivered through community health workers, can boost survival rates for babies. The same approach that saved newborn lives in Bangladesh must now be expanded to other poor countries in Africa and Asia, where the majority of the nearly 4 million newborns die each year needlessly."

Save the Children, through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, cofunded the three-year study in Sylhet, Bangladesh with USAID in partnership with Johns Hopkins University and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B). Johns Hopkins University Professor Dr. Abdullah Baqui is the lead author of the article, which ran in the June 7, 2008 edition of The Lancet. 

Read our story on delivering results for newborns and mothers in Bangladesh.

Save the Children (www.savethechildren.org) is the leading, independent organization creating lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. For more than 75 years, Save the Children has worked to improve the lives of children and their families through programs in health, education and economic opportunities, and during times of crisis and conflict. Save the Children USA is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, a global network of 27 independent Save the Children organizations working to ensure the well-being and protection of children in more than 120 countries.