Newborn Health
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Newborn infections

Neonatal infections are primarily bacterial in origin, and include pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis. Neonatal infections result in over 550 000 neonatal deaths every year. Most of these deaths can be averted by preventive measures, early diagnosis, timely care-seeking, treatment with appropriate antibiotics, and follow up. Early diagnosis requires early recognition of clinical signs, symptoms and syndromes. Possible serious bacterial infection (PSBI) is the most important clinical syndrome in low and middle income countries (LMICs). An estimated 6.9 million episodes of PSBI occur in in young infants aged 0-59 days in LMICs  every year.

Newborn health - premature 1
WHO/Yoshi Shimizu
Maternal and Child Health Care at the Berakas Health Centre
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WHO’s work includes: monitoring and data, guidelines and research

 

 

Monitoring and data

  • Working with countries and partners to implement the Every Newborn: An action plan to end preventable deaths adopted in May 2014 in the framework of the UN Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents' Health (2016-30);
  • Working with countries to strengthen the availability and quality of data on neonatal infections
  • Coordinating the development of indicators at national and subnational level to assess coverage of antibiotic treatment for babies with PBSI 

Guidelines

  • Regularly updating clinical guidelines for the management of hospital management of neonatal infections and also management where referral is not possible
  • Supporting countries to implement these guidelines

Selected resources

Related links

Research

  • Implementing studies to improve the management of infants with PSBI in hospitals, health facilities and where referral is not possible

e-Collection – Implementation research on management of sick young infants with PSBI where referral is not possible from: