In Nepal the under-five mortality rate is 59 for every 1000 births. Nepal is one of only seven countries in the world on track to cut child mortality by two thirds between 1990 and 2015. Watch this BBC video to find out more.
The DHS 2006 showed impressive progress in infant and child mortality. However, the progress on reduction of newborn mortality is not satisfactory. In order to continue to be on track to reach MDG 4, Nepal needs to focus on reducing newborn mortality. Considering that 80% of deliveries still occur at home, the Government of Nepal has developed and endorsed a community based newborn care package (CB-NCP) in partnership with Save the Children and other key stakeholders.
The objectives of the project include:
- Increase knowledge about newborn health in order to enable desired behaviour
- Improve healthy newborn care practices and discourage harmful practices
- Encourage communities to utilize available newborn services
We work with the government to target pregnant women, recently delivered women, husbands, mothers- in-laws, family members, traditional healers, religious leaders, health workers. We will also look at how we can engage with community leaders and stakeholders, teachers, NGO/CBO, civil society, media, high school and college students, out of school adolescents, etc..:
The strategy will have a combination of mutually reinforcing approaches which include advocacy, social mobilisation and behaviour change communication (BCC). Localised advocacy, social mobilisation and BCC activities, linked to increased availability of newborn care services, will help in implementing the CB-NCP effectively.