New Life New Hope

Supporting maternal & child health

Improving maternal and child care is a global priority. According to the World Health Organization, young mothers and their children under the age of five are a vulnerable and undertreated population. Annually 8.2 million children under five die because of neonatal conditions, infections and related causes, while 800 women die every day due to complications during pregnancy or childbirth¹.

As part of its Sustainable Development Goal to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, the UN has set two targets:

• By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100 000 live births
• By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1 000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1 000 live births

Sandoz is committed to supporting the achievement of these goals by increasing access to high-quality medicines, as well as healthcare services and education for mothers and children around the world.

Working to improve maternal and child health

In 2015, Sandoz launched a new program in Ethiopia called New Life & New Hope to improve maternal and child health and to reduce mortality associated with childbirth. The company sponsored four Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care trainings for 80 midwives, impacting the care of approximately 40 000 pregnant women in the Addis Ababa area. In 2016, Sandoz supported the implementation of the second wave of training for another 100 midwives in Afar, Somali, Gambella and Benishangul-Gumuz, regions where the highest need of delivery skills intervention has been identified by the Ministry of Health. This phase of the program will be completed by June 2016. To ensure ongoing availability of medicines, focus will turn to upgrading maternal wards in the health facilities will start in July 2016 where the aim is to upgrade at least 10 centers by the end of this year.