Maternal and Newborn Health Strategy

USAID implements a multi-pronged approach to maternal health and newborn health, which supports integrated programs to serve women and children in the stages of pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, delivery, and early childhood. These approaches are outlined in both USAID's maternal health strategy and the Agency's child health strategy.

Maternal Health Strategy

Key Principles
Community Practices and Mobilization
Quality Services
Policy and Resources
Research
Health Systems Strengthening

Child Health Strategy

Key Principals

USAID's approach to improving newborn health outcomes in outlined in the Agency's child health strategy as well as its maternal health strategy. Specifically, the child health strategic objective, increased use of key child health and nutrition interventions, aims to improve child health and nutrition by focusing on developing and utilizing low-cost interventions that are the primary causes of child illness and death. Under this objective, USAID invests in the development, evaluation, and scaling-up of interventions with higher impact on newborn survival.

Currently, USAID invests in the expansion of community-based newborn care initiatives and the development of educational materials for health providers. These materials include training curricula, clinical guidelines, and standards of care. The Agency also works to improve the quality of facility-based newborn care, and supports the disbursement of newborn-related child survival and health grants to private voluntary organizations (PVOs).

USAID also invests in the development and evaluation of new and improved newborn health interventions. For example, the Agency supports programs to improve the survival of low birth weight babies and treat potentially deadly infections. In India, USAID supports a program that utilizes an innovative single-use syringe technology for the injection of the antibiotic Gentamicin.