Malawi Health Program 'Maikhanda' Helps Save Newborns

A trial carried out in Malawi has been used to help provide quality care for mothers and newborns to reduce the possibility of infant mortality by 30 percent. Researchers say this has helped save at least 1,000 newborn's lives in rural Malawi, and they're hoping to save even more with continued efforts.

The study was focused on three rural districts in Malawi with a combined population of more than two million, and was designed to test whether awareness regarding perinatal care and specific treatments could improve overall quality of health care and make help more effective than one approach by itself.

"The result supports intuition, but it was important to demonstrate it scientifically," said Pierre Barker, M.D., a Senior Vice President of the US-based Institute for Health Care Improvement and the lead partner in the program, according to a press release.

The program was supported by the Health Foundation, which allotted a five-year period to obtain the results. The press release notes that following a discussion with the Malawi Ministry of Health, the foundation agreed to focus their efforts in three poor rural districts that would greatly benefit from the works for the accelerated reduction of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in this southeastern African country.

The new organization created to help out new mothers and their children in their area is called Maikhanda, also known as "mother-baby" in local Chichewa.

Results of the trial are published in International Health and in the Health Foundation's "Improving maternal and newborn health in Malawi" report to Malawi health officials.