title: Newborn healthcare in urban India.
abstract: The rapid population growth in urban India has outpaced the municipal capacity to build essential infrastructures that make life in cities safe and healthy. Local and national governments alike are grappling with the challenges of urbanization with thousands migrating from villages to cities. Thus, urbanization in India has been accompanied by a concentration of poverty and urban public healthcare has emerged as one of the most pressing priorities facing our country. Newborn mortality rates in urban settings are lower than rural areas, early neonatal deaths account for greater proportion than late neonatal deaths. The available evidence suggests that socio-economic inequalities and poor environment pose major challenges for newborn health. Moreover, fragmented and weak public health system, multiplicity of actors and limited capacity of public health planning further constrain the delivery of quality and affordable health care service. Though healthcare is concentrated in urban areas, delay in deciding to seek health care, reaching a source of it and receiving appropriate care affects the health outcomes disproportionately. However, a few city initiatives and innovations piloted in different states and cities have brought forth the evidences of effectiveness of different strategies. Recently launched National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) provides an opportunity for strategic thinking and actions to improve newborn health outcomes in India. There is also an opportunity for coalescence of activities around National Health Mission (NHM) and Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health+Adolescent (RMNCH+A) strategy to develop feasible and workable models in different urban settings. Concomitant operational research needs to be carried out so that the obstacles, approaches and response to the program can be understood.
authors.affiliation: Indian Institute of Public Health (Delhi), Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Osrin
authors.affiliation: Saving Newborn Lives, Save the Children, India.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Patil
authors.affiliation: Indian Institute of Public Health (Delhi), Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Neogi
authors.affiliation: Indian Institute of Public Health (Delhi), Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chauhan
authors.affiliation: Saving Newborn Lives, Save the Children, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khanna
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: V K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.affiliation: Indian Institute of Public Health (Delhi), Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zodpey
mesh_terms: D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007223:Infant; D007224:Infant Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D000068101:Maternal-Child Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011203:Poverty; D058996:Quality Improvement; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014171:Transients and Migrants; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014507:Urbanization