For Sierra Leone to achieve MDGs 4 (reduce child mortality), simple hygiene and umbilical cords cleaning approach by using 7.1% chlorhexidine can prevent thousands of newborns from infection and such save more lives.
Using Chlorhexidine to clean umbilical cords of babies - including premature babies - can reduce newborn deaths in Sierra Leone.For Sierra Leone to achieve MDGs 4 (reduce child mortality), simple hygiene and umbilical cords cleaning can prevent thousands of newborns from infection and such save more lives. Every year in Sierra Leone, more than 10,000 newborns are lost and this has remained for decades (UNICEF report, 2013). Babies born too soon are particularly fragile - One newborn death out of three is due to preterm complications (Liu et al 2012).Infection (neonatal sepsis) is one of the leading causes of deaths among newborns in Sierra Leone where majority of health care providers tie umbilical cords. Actually, tying of umbilical cord is accepted but clamping is the standard. Sesay Samira (a final year student of the Fourabay College and an intern with Evidence for Action) conducted an observational study (in 2013) that shed more light on use of Chlorhexidine in Sierra Leone. The study found that only Aberdeen Women Centre (14.3%) of the seven facilities observed for newborn care in Western-Area is using Chlorhexidine to clean umbilical cord. Sesay (2013) concludes that Chlorhexidine is reported to be used by 63.6% of health workers interviewed but is not available in the facilities.The World Health Organisation added Chlorhexidine in 2013 to its Model List of Essential Medicines for Children (PATH, 2013) to encourage its introduction for umbilical cord care in low-resource settings worldwide. Evidence coming from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan (low-resource Countries like Sierra Leone) has proved that the application of Chlorhexidine to the umbilical cord stump prevents infection and saves lives. An obvious observation from the just concluded Sierra Leone newborns care bottleneck analysis on use of Chlorhexidine indicates that its use for umbilical cords care need to be accelerated and prioritised to reduce deaths linked to poor umbilical cords care and hygiene. It was clear that there is no guideline or policy currently safeguarding the use of Chlorhexidine in Sierra Leone. In conclusion, implementation of Chlorhexidine will need endorsement from policymakers and professionals bodies. We have to increase access to and use of Chlorhexidine, provide appropriate promotion of it and ensure correct use through training of professionals.Interested in more facts and figures about babies born too soon in Sierra Leone? Click here. Do you want to know what you could do? Click here.To discover our evidence summary about on figures and trends for preterm births globally, click here.Reference:PATH, (2013). WHO adds 7.1% chlorhexidinedigluconate for umbilical cord care to essential medicines list July 2013 [Online]. Available from: http://www.path.org/news/press-room/636/Sesay, S. (2013). Comparative Analysis of Health Care Standards and practices for Newborn Babies in Sierra Leone November 2013 (Unpublished).UNICEF (2013). Commitment to Child Survival. A Promised Renewed. Progress Report 2013. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) September 2013. [Online].Available from: http://progressreport.apromiserenewed.orgLiu L, Johnson HL, Cousens S, Lawn JE. et al. (2012), “Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality in 2000–2010: an updated systematic analysis”, The Lancet, Vol 379:9832, pp 2151-61. N.B.