China Donates 400,000 USD Worth Medical Supplies to Help Improve Newborn Health
(ENA) The Government of China donated today medical supplies worth 400,000 USD to improve the quality of health care provided for newborn babies in Ethiopia.
The medical supplies are part of the project“Improving the quality of health care provided to newborn babies in two zones of Tigray and SNNP regions” launched in March 2020, it was learned.
It covers 61 health centers, 229 health posts, and six primary hospitals in the two regions. An estimated 94,000 pregnant women and newborn babies are expected to benefit from the project.
The supplies include continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), bubbles with canula for newborn babies, hand operated neonate resuscitators, oxygen concentrators, neonatal room thermometers, pulse oximeters, midwifery kit/equipment, delivery beds, and other essential supplies crucial for the survival of newborns.
In addition to tailored procurement of these essential supplies and equipment, the support will help to improve the quality of health care for newborn babies through competency-based training of health workers, clinical mentorship, and supporting data reporting and use by health practitioners across the primary health care system health posts, health centres, and primary hospitals.
During the handing over ceremony, Health Minister Dr. Lia Tadesse said the reduction of newborn mortality is a top priority of the Ethiopian government as stated in the Health Sector Transformation Plan.
“We are aiming to reduce neonatal mortality from 33 deaths in 1,000 live births in 2019 to 21 in 2024/2025,” she said, adding that this support is contributing significantly to reaching this goal working in such a remote geographic area.
Most newborns can survive and thrive, provided they have access to quality health care, including access to appropriate inpatient care, which requires well-trained, well-supported and well-equipped health workers, Dr. Lia noted.
According to a press release of UNICEF, Minister Counselor of Economic and Commercial Cooperation at the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, Yang Yihang said China is proud to support the Government of Ethiopia through a strong partnership with UNICEF to tackle the most pressing challenge in the country reduction of neonatal mortality.
UNICEF Representative Adele Khodr said reducing maternal and neonatal deaths is at the heart of UNICEF’s work in Ethiopia.
“We are grateful to the People’s Republic of China for their generous financial support to scale up newborn care services across the continuum of care and across the Ethiopian health service delivery system,” she noted.
Ethiopia has achieved commendable results in the reduction of under 5 mortality from a very high level of 222 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 59 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2019.
Despite this reduction, deaths of newborn babies have remained high, with an estimated 112,000 dying every year and accounting for 55 per cent of all under-5 child deaths.
Source: Ethiopia News Agency