title: Ending preventable newborn deaths in a generation.
abstract: The end of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) era was marked in 2015, and while maternal and child mortality have been halved, MGD 4 and MDG 5 are off-track at the global level. Reductions in neonatal death rates (age <1 month) lag behind those for post-neonates (age 1-59 months), and stillbirth rates (omitted from the MDGs) have been virtually unchanged. Hence, almost half of under-five deaths are newborns, yet about 80% of these are preventable using cost-effective interventions. The Every Newborn Action Plan has been endorsed by the World Health Assembly and ratified by many stakeholders and donors to reduce neonatal deaths and stillbirths to 10 per 1000 births by 2035. The plan provides an evidence-based framework for scaling up of essential interventions across the continuum of care with the potential to prevent the deaths of approximately three million newborns, mothers, and stillbirths every year. Two million stillbirths and newborns could be saved by care at birth and care of small and sick newborns, giving a triple return on investment at this key time. Commitment, investment, and intentional leadership from global and national stakeholders, including all healthcare professionals, can make these ambitious goals attainable.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Akseer
authors.affiliation: MARCH Centre, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; International Pediatric Association, Elk Grove Village, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Joy E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lawn
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, St Louis University, St Louis, MO, USA; International Pediatric Association, Elk Grove Village, IL, USA.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Keenan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Athens, Athens, Greece; International Pediatric Association, Elk Grove Village, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Konstantopoulos
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; International Pediatric Association, Elk Grove Village, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, KPJ Healthcare University College, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; International Pediatric Association, Elk Grove Village, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Zulkifli
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.affiliation: Deep Children Hospital and Research Centre, Gandhidham-Kutch, Gujarat, India; International Pediatric Association, Elk Grove Village, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Naveen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Thacker
authors.affiliation: Estacio de Sa University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; International Pediatric Association, Elk Grove Village, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cabral
authors.affiliation: Centre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Center of Excellence in Women and Child Health, the Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan; International Pediatric Association, Elk Grove Village, IL, USA. Electronic address: zulfiqar.bhutta@sickkids.ca.
authors.forename: Zulfiqar A
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Bhutta
mesh_terms: D046688:Child Mortality / Q000639:trends; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D008428:Maternal Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D066087:Perinatal Death / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011247:Pregnancy; D050497:Stillbirth / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: MDGs; Mortality prevention; Newborn death; Stillbirth