Essential Newborn Care

Profile/Rationale of the Health Program The Child Survival Strategy published by the Department of Health has emphasized the need to strengthen health services of children throughout the stages. The neonatal period has been identified as one of the most crucial phase in the survival and development of the child. The United Nations Millennium Development Goal Number 4 of reducing under five child mortality can be achieved by the Philippines however if the neonatal mortality rates are not addressed from its non-moving trend of decline, MDG 4 might not be achieved.

Vision and Mission: None to mention as these are inclusive in the MNCHN Strategy and NOH 2011-2016 Goals: To reduce neonatal mortality rates by 2/3 from 1990 levels Objectives: 1. To provide evidence-based practices to ensure survival of the newborn from birth up to the first 28 days of life 2. To deliver time-bound core intervention in the immediate period after the delivery of the newborn 3. To strengthen health facility environment for breastfeeding initiation to take place and for breastfeeding to be continued from discharge up to 2 years of life 4. To provide appropriate and timely emergency newborn care to newborns in need of resuscitation 5. To ensure access of newborns to affordable life-saving medicines to reduce deaths and morbidity from leading causes of newborn conditions 6. To ensure inclusion of newborn care in the overall approach to the Maternal, Newborn, Child Health and Nutrition Strategy

Stakeholders: 1. Both public and private sector at all levels of health service delivery providing maternal and newborn services 2. Health Professional Organizations and their member health professionals a. Pediatricians/neonatalogists of the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) and the Philippine Society of Newborn Medicine (PSNbM) b. Obstetrician-Gynecologists of the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society (POGS)

c. Perinatologists of the Perinatal Association of the Philippines, Inc., (PAPI) d. Anesthesiologists and obstetric anesthesiologists of the Philippine Society of Anesthesiologists (PSA) and the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia of the Philippines (SOAP), e. Family medicine specialists of the Philippine Academy of Family Physicians (PAFP) f. Nurses, Maternal and child nurses, intensive care nurses of the Philippine Nurses Association and its affiliate nursing societies g. Midwives of the Integrated Midwives of the Philippines (IMAP), Philippine League of Government and Private Midwives, Inc. (PLGPMI), Midwives Foundation of the Philippines (MFP) and Well Family Midwives Clinic 3. Government regulatory bodies e.g. Professional Regulations Commission 4. Academe - professors and instructors from members schools and colleges of: a. Association of Philippine Medical Colleges (APMC) b. Association of Deans of Philippine Colleges of Nursing (ADPCN) c. Association of Philippine Schools of Midwifery 5. Hospital, health care administrator and infection control associations a. Philippine Hospital Association (PHA) b. Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAP) c. Philippine College of Hospital Administrators d. Philippine Hospital Infection Control Society 6. Local government units - local chief executives and LGU legislative bodies

Beneficiaries: a. Newborns all over the country b. Parents

c. communities

Program Strategies: 1. Health Sector Reform a. Policy and Guideline Issuance i) Administrative Order 2009-0025 - Adopting Policies and Guidelines on Essential Newborn Care - December 1, 2009 ii) Clinical Pocket Guide on Essential Newborn Care b. Aquino Health Agenda and Achieving Universal Health Care - Administrative Order 2010-0036 c. PhilHealth Circular 2011-011 dated August 5, 2011 on Newborn Care Package d. Development of Operationalization of Essential Newborn Care Protocol in Health Facilities 2 Identification of Centers of Excellence - Adoption of essential newborn care protocol(including intrapartum care and the MNCHN Strategy) 3. Curriculum Reforms - Curriculum integration of essential newborn care (including intrapartum care and the MNCHN Strategy) in undergraduate health courses - Integration and revision of board exam questions in licensure examinations for physicians, nurses and midives 4. Social Marketing - Development of social marketing tools - Unang Yakap MDG 4 & 5

Major Activities and its Guidelines:

a. Conduct of one-day orientation-workshop on essential newborn care (including intrapartum care and the MNCHN Strategy) b. Regional MNCHN Conference for CHDs and LGUs including DOH-retained hospitals and LGU hospitals

Current Status of the Program A. What have been achieved/done 1. Policy was issued in December 1, 2009 2. DOH/WHO Scale-up Implementation was done in 11 hospitals 3. Advocacy Partners Forum on essential newborn care (including intrapartum care and the MNCHN Strategy) 4. One-day orientation-workshop on essential newborn care (including intrapartum care and the MNCHN Strategy) among health workers in different health facilities 5. Inclusion of dexamethasone and surfactant as core medicines in the essential medicines list for children in the Philippine National Formulary

B. Statistics Early outcomes of EINC implementation has shown reduction on neonatal deaths in select DOHretained hospitals including deaths from neonatal sepsis and complicatons of prematurity

Partner organizations/agencies:

National Nutrition Council Population Commission WHO UNICEF UNFPA AusAID USAID health professional and academic organizations mentioned above.