Save the Children have recognised Tanzania as one of nine countries that has made significant progress in agenda setting, policy formulation and policy implementation in newborn health, but it still ranks tenth among countries with the most first-day deaths.
Well done to Save the Children for their latest report on the State of the World’s Mothers. This document outlines the challenges that newborns face on their first day across the world, and includes case studies which demonstrate the importance of skilled healthcare. Reports like these can be very helpful to show how well a country is doing in tackling newborn mortality as well as highlighting the impact policies can have over time. This makes governments more accountable – the media and the public can also see this data.There are some interesting – and challenging – facts identified for Tanzania. For example, it currently ranks tenth in countries with the most first-day deaths.In better news, Save the Children have recognised Tanzania as one of nine countries that has made significant progress in agenda setting, policy formulation and policy implementation in newborn health. National efforts since 2000 to integrate effective newborn interventions within existing health systems at facility and community levels have achieved 16 of the 27 benchmarks set by Save the Children and four more have been partially achieved.We at MamaYe are working hard with Government, with health professionals, and – really importantly – with the Tanzanian public to change these numbers. Work with us and help play your part in this campaign to save mothers and babies. And I thoroughly recommend having a read.