Background
Newborn care services are limited in Kayah State in eastern Myanmar. Physical, social and financial barriers have led to poor accessibility and utilization of health services and the health work force is unable to meet the needs of families with newborn babies. In addition to this, there is limited awareness in the communitiesabout newborn care and signs of when their health is in danger.

About the project
This project was created to reduce the neonatal mortality rate in Loikaw Township, Kayah State, by shifting the tasks of newborn care services to community volunteers. By doing this, the project team’s goal was to increase accessibility and utilization of newborn care services and empower the community with a deeper knowledge of newborn care and early danger signs.

Results
The project team trained all female community health workers and auxiliary midwives in Loikaw Township in community-based newborn care. Out of the total 1565 deliveries in Loikaw (between December -16 and August -17), 671 babies received care services and 401 babies received full time care services from the community volunteers. The volunteers referred 33 newborns to a hospital after identifying danger signs. After the implementation of this project, the neonatal deaths had significantly reduced in the area and the project team are planning on expanding their model to other areas in Kayah State.

 Year: 2016