Vietnam is among the top 10 countries worldwide that have made the greatest strides in saving newborn lives over the past two decades, Save the Children says in its annual report on May 7.
The children’s aid agency revealed a 48 per cent decline in newborn mortality in Vietnam between 1990 and 2011.
“Vietnam is on track to achieving child and maternal mortality reduction targets as part of the UN Millennium Development Goals. However, more than 17,000 babies still die within the first month of life, many of these deaths are preventable,” said Doan Anh Tuan, Interim Country Director for Save the Children in Vietnam.
The leading causes of newborn death in Vietnam include preterm birth, asphyxia and sepsis. According to the report, four products which only cost between 13 cents and US$6 per treatment can prevent one-third of newborn deaths each year.
Given that almost all mothers deliver their babies with a skilled attendant presents, we can prevent thousands of Vietnamese children from dying needlessly each year if we trained health workers to use these products including corticosteroid injections to women in preterm labour, resuscitation devices to save babies who do not breathe at birth, chlorhexidine cord cleansing to prevent umbilical cord infections, and injectable antibiotics to treat newborn sepsis and pneumonia.
The charity calls on Vietnamese leaders to invest in low-cost solutions that can dramatically reduce newborn mortality because newborn/paediatric doses of antibiotics can prevent and treat simple but deadly infections. Exclusive breastfeeding and “kangaroo mother care” should be encouraged which cost nothing but can save hundreds of thousands of babies’ lives each year.
