Strategy spotlight program

Donation for health care: invest in maternal and newborn health

The need for greater investment and Donation for health care

Maternal and newborn health is on the agenda worldwide and for good reason. While progress has been made over the last decade to reduce deaths and stillbirths, progress is slowing. Women and their babies continue to die due to complications before, during and after childbirth. Many of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Most are preventable.

In Uganda, where we have worked since 1998, newborn disorders are the leading cause of death. The country is losing 45,000 newborns each year. That’s 123 babies lost every day, hundreds of devastated families, and a monumental loss of human potential. But there’s still time to turn the tide.

OUR SOLUTION – ADARANEWBORN

We’ve pioneered a model – AdaraNewborn – for increasing survival rates for the sickest and smallest newborns and their mothers to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets. The model works across the continuum of care, supporting patient care for mothers and newborns from pregnancy through to their return home after birth. AdaraNewborn has the power to halve maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths across 10 health facilities in Uganda over the next decade.

A donation to a health care model like AdaraNewborn can change the story for women and babies.
Our model ensures facilities and newborn units are resourced with the equipment, staff, training and infrastructure needed to save lives. It also works with a regional hub and spoke approach, strengthening referral pathways across the health system.

Maternal newborn and child health care

“Improving maternal and newborn care in one facility is not enough. We must improve the system and uplift the quality of care across many facilities throughout Uganda to create sustainable change. Saving lives at scale requires a targeted approach to health system strengthening.”

Beatrice Niyonshaba, Deputy Director of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.
Our work with the Ugandan Ministry of Health

We’re working closely with the Ugandan Ministry of Health in this work. In June, we were invited to a high-level roundtable discussion on newborn care in Uganda. It brought together government officials, health workers, implementing partners and newborn health leaders with the goal of charting a path forward to enhance newborn health outcomes. Experts emphasised the urgent need for increased investment in Uganda’s newborn care – especially in staff, infrastructure, and equipment.

“We are just five years away to the end of the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Dr Peter Waiswa, Associate Professor at Makerere University and Adara Development board member in an interview with the Daily Monitor. “In the last 20 years, Uganda has sort of taken some steps, but now it needs to take off… We are not moving fast enough.”

How You can help

As we scale AdaraNewborn across Uganda, we’re uniquely placed to contribute to these efforts and support Uganda to achieve the SDGs. A donation to maternal newborn and child health care can help make this future possible.

Join us to save 7,000 lives and reach 500,000 women and children. Then join us as we share our knowledge and experience so other countries can adapt and adopt this model.

“An investment in AdaraNewborn is an investment in a model with international applicability. Together, we make our ambitious vision a reality.

Adara Development CEO, Madeline Vaughan. “

Join us

…to bring quality health and education services to people living in some of the world’s remotest places.

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