Maternal, Newborn & Child Health
Every two minutes, a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth. Each day, 6,400 babies
die during their first month of life. Most of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Most are preventable with quality maternal, newborn and child health services.
We specialise in delivering high-quality healthcare to women, newborns and children at health facilities, in the community and at home. Through maternal health initiatives focused on upskilling health workers, equipping facilities and strengthening the health system, we aim to reduce preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths.
We’ve pioneered a model – AdaraNewborn – to increase survival rates for the sickest and smallest newborns and their mothers to meet Sustainable Development Goal targets. Now we’re expanding this model across 10 health facilities in Uganda to halve maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths.
AdaraNewborn
AdaraNewborn is our model of care, with the power to halve newborn deaths and stillbirths across 10 facilities in Uganda over the next decade. It will do this by supporting women and newborns from pregnancy through to their return home after birth. It provides health workers with training and mentorship; strengthens leadership and governance in the health system; equips facilities with the tools to succeed; and focuses on quality improvement systems. This creates sustainable systems change, saving lives now and reducing deaths into the future.
Centre of excellence
At the heart of AdaraNewborn is a holistic model of care to women, newborns and children that we pioneered with our partner, Kiwoko Hospital, since 1998. This work has been recognised by Uganda’s Ministry of Health as a Centre of Excellence in the country. We are leveraging this experience to expand our model across Uganda. To facilitate this process, We are committed to maintaining Kiwoko as a Centre of Excellence by supporting the hospital’s programmes across the continuum of care.
Hospital to Home
Hospital to Home (H2H) is our flagship newborn follow-up programme supporting high-risk infants in the hospital and when they return home. It strengthens care for infants in a neonatal unit through comprehensive parent education programmes and promotion of care that encourages healthy brain development. It also provides regular at-home follow-up support to these infants for six months after discharge through a network of community health workers. H2H sits in the ‘follow-up and early intervention’ arm of AdaraNewborn.
Baby Ubtunu
Baby Ubuntu is a programme of early care and support that aims to improve quality of life for children with mild to moderate neurodisabilities and their caregivers. The programme includes a parent education training programme with 12 modules. It provides emotional and practical support to caregivers so they feel empowered and confident. It also gives them the tools to care for their child. Baby Ubuntu sits in the ‘follow-up and early intervention’ arm of AdaraNewborn.
Adara Youth Community Centre
The Adara Youth Community Centre (AYCC) provides support to adolescents through sexual and reproductive health education and services. These can include family planning, counselling, life skills training, antenatal care services, and connection with health services. It also provides community outreach, working closely with schools, parents and local leaders. These services are available to young people aged 10 to 24. Our goal is to provide youth with support to lead happy and healthy lives.
Bubble CPAP Kit
Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is a leading cause of death for babies born prematurely. To help these tiny babies breathe, we teamed up with PATH, University of Washington, Seattle Children’s Hospital and Kiwoko Hospital to develop an innovative, low-cost bubble continuous positive airway pressure (bCPAP) kit for babies suffering from RDS in low-resource settings. It could save hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide.
Critical healthcare
We support vulnerable communities in Central Uganda, including people living with HIV, diabetes, disabilities, epilepsy, mental health conditions and tuberculosis. By supporting Kiwoko Hospital’s HIV, diabetes and community based healthcare (CBHC) programmes, we ensure these groups have access to essential services.
Meet Alice and Robinah
When Alice went into premature labour while sick with malaria, she worried whether her tiny daughter would survive. Fortunately, shortly after birth, Alice’s daughter – named Robinah – was admitted to Nakaseke Hospital, an AdaraNewborn facility. This meant it was equipped with the staff, facilities and supplies to provide her with quality care.
Now Robinah is thriving.
Proving our impact in 2023
Inside our maternal, newborn & child health work
85%
survival rate for newborns cared for in the Kiwoko Hospital neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
946
infants enrolled in our Hospital to Home programme after leaving the Kiwoko Hospital NICU (97% received at least one follow up).
99.9%
maternal survival rate for women admitted to Kiwoko Hospital maternity ward.
98%
survival in the Nakaseke Hospital special care baby unit.
Hand in hand
Maternal, Newborn & Child Health Partners
Join us
…to bring quality health and education services to people living in some of the world’s remotest places.
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