Saving lives at birth in low-resource settings
THE CHALLENGE
10x progress needed
Every year, 290,000 mothers and 2.3 million newborns die on the day of birth. Tragically, another 750,000 babies are considered fresh stillborn and left untreated, even though many of them could have been saved through resuscitation.
98% of these deaths are in low-income countries. Most of these lives could be saved by trained and supported healthcare providers.
Although there was progress in reducing mortality from 2000 to 2015, the momentum towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for maternal and infant survival has slowed. To meet these goals, progress needs to increase by 3-10 times.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Most lives can be saved on the day of birth
UNICEF and the WHO estimate that the lives of 2.9 million mothers and newborns can be saved every year, by 2030.
This does not require breakthrough innovations but could be achieved by scaling up proven interventions that ensure the delivery of high-quality care.
The greatest opportunity to save lives is on the day of birth, during labor, and childbirth.
How we help
Laerdal Global Health (LGH) was established in 2010 as a not-for-profit company dedicated to helping save the lives of mothers and newborns.
LGH develops innovative, high-impact solutions to enable healthcare personnel to manage the leading causes of maternal and neonatal deaths. Through collaboration with partners and government agencies, these solutions are integrated into scalable and sustainable programs in the countries with the highest maternal and newborn mortality.
Our partner programs
Together with global partners, we develop evidence-based programs to address the leading causes of maternal and newborn mortality.
Safer Births Bundle of Care
Preliminary results from 30 Tanzanian hospitals show a remarkable 45% reduction in early newborn mortality and a 70% decrease in maternal mortality.
The Saving Little Lives program
Every year, one million preterm babies die, comprising 35% of all neonatal mortality. The Saving Little Lives program targets the primary causes.
Strengthening midwifery education
The world needs 900,000 more midwives. Together with partners, we work to scale-up and improve the quality of midwifery education.
Helping mothers and babies survive
Developed with WHO, AAP, and Jhpiego, these programs equip healthcare workers to provide lifesaving care to mothers and newborns during birth.
Safety in C-sections and anesthesia
We work to keep normal births normal and prepare healthcare workers to manage birth complications including necessary C-sections.
Initiatives in high-income countries
Maternal mortality has increased alarmingly in several high-income countries. We collaborate with partners to reverse this trend.
Veronica's baby
A Safer Births story.
Creating Sustainable Change
From donorship to ownership
How can we ensure that programs for maternal and newborn health have lasting impact? We believe that transitioning from donor funding to local support and government ownership by Ministries of Health is key to achieving sustainable impact.
To do this, innovative financing models can help.
In 2020, we partnered with the Global Financing Facility through an Innovation-to-Scale award to finance the scale up of promising innovative programs with high impact potential.
Out of 320 applications, our partner programs, Safer Births and Saving Little Lives were awarded $4.5 million to demonstrate their impact and cost-effectiveness in large-scale implementation. Due to remarkable results, the Safer Births Bundle of Care was awarded an additional 8M to scale up to 150 hospitals in Tanzania.
Buy one gift one
10,000 birthing simulators donated to places where they are needed most
For every birthing simulator purchased by Laerdal Medical for use in a high-income country, another one is distributed to a country with high maternal and newborn mortality. Laerdal Global Health strategically allocates the simulators and educational materials to partner programs that have been identified to demonstrate high-impact potential.
Our commitment
Learning about the big unmet needs for quality care at birth and inspired by the big opportunities to help save lives at birth, the Laerdal family established Laerdal Global Health as a not-for-profit company in 2010, dedicated to helping save lives at birth in low-resource settings.
To help accelerate progress in reduction of maternal and newborn mortality, the Laerdal Foundation also decided to allocate 50 % of its annual appropriations to saving lives at birth-related projects in low-resource settings.
