The links between Neonatal Care and achieving national targets for Infant Mortality Rates in PICs Rufina Latu WHO Country Office, Port Vila, Vanuatu 10 th July, Apia, Samoa 1

The faces behind the statistics Many newborns die from preventable causes

NEONATAL DEATHS Neonatal death = within first 28days of life Early Neonatal death = first 7 days What do the statistics show? -Global -Pacific countries

MDG 4: reduce under-5 mortality by 2/3 Target Indicators Under-five mortality rate Infant mortality rate Neonatal mortality rate

Causes of Deaths: under-5 Western Pacific Region, 2010

Neonatal mortality as % of under-5 mortality REGIONProportion due to Neonatal mortality Global41% Western Pacific Region54% Pacific Island countries48%

Neonatal, Infant and Child Mortality - contribution to under-5 mortality 8 DHS in 7 Pacific Is countries:

Causes of Neonatal Deaths

Up to 50% of neonatal deaths occur in 1 st 24 hrs 75% of neonatal deaths - first week Age at death for Neonates Interventions affect the rest of their lives

Accelerated Action Source: MICS 2007, UNICEF, MOH 16

We can prevent newborn deaths

Reduce Neonatal deaths - through continuum of care at all levels Antenatal 7– 14% reduction of NMR Intrapartum 19 – 34% reduction of NMR Postnatal 10 – 27% reduction of NMR Community based care % reduction of NMR Primary Health Care % reduction of NMR Secondary Care - hosp % reduction of NMR

Neonatal care – moving forward 3. Document progress 2. Specific Interventions - eg perinatal mortality review 1. Review current practices 14

Let’s not allow missed opportunities for saving newborns

Reaching remote communities 1