PROJAHNMO: Community-based Intervention to Reduce Neonatal Mortality in Bangladesh

Funded by: USAID

Neonatal death rates in developing countries are unacceptably high. About 98% of an estimated 5 million annual neonatal deaths occur in developing countries, primarily in Asia and Africa. Many countries in these regions, including Bangladesh, have a neonatal mortality rate of more than 40/1,000 live births and most of the deaths occur in the first few days of life. This high neonatal mortality, associated with the high rate of births at home, necessitates a community-based intervention. PROJAHNMO is one such intervention research with the following objectives at its core:

Objectives

To evaluate the impact of a package of obstetric and neonatal care practices including management of serious neonatal infections by first-line health workers.
To improve newborn care and recognition and management of serious infections in neonates by mothers and trained first-line health workers.

Study design

The study comprises of a cluster-randomised trial with three study arms encompassing 24 unions of three upazilas (sub-districts) in Sylhet district. The study arms are: (a) Home Care (HC) model, (b) Clinic Care (CC) model, and (c) Comparison.

The primary outcome measures of the study are overall and cause-specific neonatal mortality and knowledge regarding maternal and neonatal care practices.

The study expects to detect a 40% reduction in neonatal mortality.

Study sites

The study sites are 24 unions of Beanibazar, Zakiganj, and Kanaighat upazilas (sub-districts) of Sylhet.

Sponsors and partners

USAID/Bangladesh, Saving Newborn Lives Initiatives/SCF-USA, and USAID/Global sponsored this study. This intervention research calls for a wide range of expertise. Therefore, a partnership was formed to conduct the research in Bangladesh. The study partnership includes: