Innovations in low- and middle-income countries for newborn and child health

Abstract

A leading health priority worldwide is the improvement of newborn and child health. Children represent a particularly vulnerable group and carry a disproportionate share of the global burden of disease. Currently, approximately 6.6 million children under the age of five die each year worldwide. The vast majority of these deaths occur in resource-limited countries. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that the growing subset of children in these countries who live in the urban setting are becoming increasingly at risk relative to those in the rural setting. The historical “urban advantage” of children living in urban environments is rapidly diminishing in the face of rapid urban growth, overcrowding, poor sanitation, environmental pollution, and limited access to affordable healthcare in urban settings. Although there is still much to accomplish in improving newborn and child health worldwide and increasingly in urban environments, notable progress has been made over the last several decades. Innovations and technologies have played a significant role in those improvements. Cost-effective interventions have been developed that can save many newborn and child lives, and additional innovations are being developed each year. The aim of this chapter is to introduce the reader to leading innovations that are saving thousands and even millions of lives annually.