Scaling up of Facility Based Newborn Care in Chhattisgarh

Every year, about 3.7 million babies die in the first four weeks of life (2004 estimates). Most of these neonates are born in developing countries and most die at home. Neonatal mortality rate per 1000 live births varies from 1 in developed countries to 52 in the least developed countries. With an NMR of 32 India stands at 29^th position in the world and has the unfortunate distinction of claiming a quarter of the total newborn deaths in the world. The intrastate comparison of NMR shows that Chhattisgarh has a NMR of 38 and is well behind states like Bihar and Jharkhand. Globally, the main direct causes of neonatal death are estimated to be preterm birth (28%), severe infections (26%), and asphyxia (23%). Neonatal tetanus accounts for a smaller proportion of deaths (7%), but is easily preventable. Low birth weight is an important indirect cause of death. Coverage of interventions within the state is low due to operational and policy issues. To scale up neonatal care, two interlinked processes are required: a systematic data driven decision making process, and a participatory, rights based policy process. The steps in the process will be to analyze the district wise data to understand the trend of neonatal health in the state and accordingly plan interventions both at community and facility level in areas which contribute much in neonatal mortality.