2.4 million deaths per year is the preventable newborn mortality rate around the world. The Sustainable Development Goal target 3.2 calls for all countries to reduce newborn mortality to no more than 12 per 1,000 live births before 2030 and ‘leave no-one behind’. Quality and useful data are key in driving concrete actions to end preventable newborn mortality in high-mortality settings such as sub-Saharan Africa.
The interim assessment of the Impulse – Improving Quality And Use Of Newborn Indicators project, implemented by Doctors With Africa Cuamm, Burlo Garofolo WHO Collaborating Center, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and in collaboration with Fakara Health Institute, Tanzania e Makerere University, Uganda; with the support of Chiesi Foundation, was held yesterday at the headquarters of Doctors With Africa Cuamm.
“We have assessed that quality and use of neonatal data is very poor in these settings, as expected. With the IMPULSE project, we want to analyse the situation in each of the countries involved so that in the future we can rely on quality data to plan country-tailored interventions for the improvement of neonatal care,” says Francesca Tognon– Head of the research project for Doctors with Africa Cuamm.
The research aims to generate evidence on effective and sustainable tools and methods to improve the availability, quality and use of data in sub-Saharan Africa, with the ultimate goal of contributing to the improvement of newborn health. Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Tanzania and Uganda are the four countries involved in the study.
“The IMPULSE project represents a milestone for the Foundation, which only a few years ago decided to refocus its research program to have a more significant impact in the field of global health, especially in improving neonatal care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this sense, IMPULSE project reflects perfectly the mission and strategy of Chiesi Foundation since it is based on a long-term approach, which we consider essential; then, because data collection and analysis is central, which is key to guide future steps; and last but not least, this is a scientific research which is the core business of the Foundation”. Massimo Salvadori– Chiesi Foundation Coordinator.
Doctors with Africa Cuamm is committed to research which is a integral part of our strategic plan, it complements our work on the ground, helping us delivering increasingly effective results. For Doctors with Africa CUAMM, “Doing research” means studying and getting to know in depth the settings where we work; adopting a critical approach to everything we do; identifying evidence-based good practices; and being fully accountable to all our stakeholders. Finally, it means implementing quality cooperative development activities through networking and partnership with the international scientific community, while focusing on innovation.
