Project profile — Improving Health and Nutrition for Hard-to-Reach Mothers and Young Children

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: improved coverage of routine immunization and improved coverage of high-impact maternal, newborn and child health; and direct nutrition interventions and practices in 14 low performing districts.

Results achieved as of March 2014 include: (1) scaling-up high impact interventions that can save the lives of newborns at community facilities, including, for example, using chlorhexidine, a common antiseptic, to care for the umbilical cord; promoting kangaroo mother care, which involves holding a newborn skin-to-skin to help the newborn regulate its body temperature and to provide psychological benefits; and managing neonatal sepsis, a blood infection that a baby can get from its mother before or during delivery; (2) promoting policy dialogue to ensure that amoxicillin tablets that dissolve and zinc supplements, which are proven low-cost effective treatments for pneumonia and diarrhea, are included in the management of those illnesses at the community level; (3) training community health workers to use and strengthen the monitoring information system for maternal, newborn and child health and direct nutrition interventions; (4) increasing the number of fully vaccinated children in nine low-performing districts and two cities, reaching 79% coverage (close to the national coverage of 80%); and (5) conducting an assessment for the future expansion of 15 sub-national cold stores in light of future new vaccines. These results are contributing towards addressing equity gaps in maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition services and increasing immunization coverage in Bangladesh. Source: Progress Report on “improving Health and Nutrition for Hard-to-Reach Mothers and Young Children”. UNICEF Bangladesh, March 2014.