Melinda French Gates and Bill Gates called for immediate action to help put the world back on track to achieve the global goal of cutting the maternal mortality rate to less than 70 out of 100,000 births and newborn mortality to 12 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030.
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) — Seven innovations could save 2 million mothers and babies by 2030, according to the annual Goalkeepers Report released Tuesday by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Co-authored by foundation co-chairs Melinda French Gates and Bill Gates, the report highlighted new data that shows the potential of scaling up global access to seven innovations and practices that address the leading causes of maternal and newborn deaths.
“By making new innovations accessible to those who need them most, 2 million additional lives could be saved by 2030, and 6.4 million lives by 2040. That’s 2 million families spared an unimaginable heartbreak – and 2 million more people who can shape and enrich our world,” they wrote.
A mother teaches her son skating at McCormick Tribune Ice Rink in Millennium Park, Chicago, the United States, Dec. 16, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)
They called for immediate action to help put the world back on track to achieve the global goal of cutting the maternal mortality rate to less than 70 out of 100,000 births and newborn mortality to 12 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030.
Many of the life-saving innovations and practices highlighted in the report can be delivered by midwives and birth attendants in communities, according to the report.
The innovations include bundle of interventions that can reduce postpartum hemorrhage; Bifidobacteria, a new probiotic supplement that.
When given to an infant alongside breastmilk, combats malnutrition; multiple micronutrient supplements that boost survival rates for babies; new one-time infusion of IV iron for women that replenishes iron reserves during pregnancy; antenatal corticosteroids, which are given to women who will give birth prematurely to accelerate fetal lung growth; azithromycin, which reduces maternal infections during pregnancy and prevents infections from spiraling into sepsis; and an AI-enabled portable ultrasound that empowers nurses and midwives to monitor high-risk pregnancies in low-resource settings to ensure that risks are diagnosed and addressed early.
