Nearly 12,000 babies in Vietnam die each year during childbirth or within the first day

Nearly 12,000 babies in Vietnam die each year during childbirth or within the first day each year, Save the Children says in a new report released today. The report, Ending Newborn Deaths, revealed that globally 2.2 million children die during childbirth or within a first day of life, half of which could be prevented if the mother and baby had free healthcare and a skilled midwife.

Southeast Asia region is home to six of 75 high-burden countries in terms of child and maternal mortality, including Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines and Vietnam. Within this regional group, Vietnam leads the way on maternal and child health, with the lowest number of children dying with during childbirth or within the first day.

Vietnam also has a high percentage of skilled attendants at birth (91.9%) in the region, compared to Laos at 37%; and a high government expenditure on health per capita (US$93.39) that is above the WHO recommendation of minimum US$60 per capita, compared to countries like Myanmar that invests a mere US$3.61 per capita. 

“The first moments of a child’s life are the most dangerous, yet too many mothers do not have access to any skilled help during labour,” said Gunnar Andersen, Country Director for Save the Children in Vietnam. “Vietnam has made substantial progress in maternal and child health, but we should not rest on our laurels. Instead, we should continue our work to achieve even better health services so no child dies from preventable causes.”

In a bid to save millions of newborn lives, Save the Children has called on world leaders to commit in 2014 to a blueprint for change – The five point newborn promise – which focuses on training and equipping enough skilled health workers to make sure that no baby is born without proper help, and removing fees for all pregnancy and birth services.

Save the Children is calling on world leaders, philanthropists and the private sector to meet and commit to the Five Point Newborn Promise in 2014: 

• Issue a defining and accountable declaration to end all preventable newborn mortality, saving 2 million newborn lives a year and stopping the 1.2 million stillbirths during labour
• Ensure that by 2025 every birth is attended by trained and equipped health workers who can deliver essential newborn health interventions
• Increase expenditure on health to at least the WHO minimum of US$60 per person
• To pay for the training, equipping and support of health worker remove user fees for all maternal, newborn and child health services, including emergency obstetric care
• The private sector, including pharmaceutical companies, should help address unmet needs by developing innovative solutions and increasing availability for the poorest to new and existing products for maternal, newborn and child health.