Photo credits: UNICEF/INDA2011-00040/Crouch
Key Points
Humanitarian crises result from armed conflict, natural and technological disasters, and other causes of social upheaval and forced displacement.
Neonatal mortality is highest in low-income settings, fragile states and countries that have recently experienced a humanitarian crisis, where risks of complications and infections are high.
Challenges to newborn health service delivery in humanitarian settings include service disruption and facility destruction, population movement, competing priorities and insecurity.
Globally, the three main causes of newborn deaths are direct preterm complications, severe infection and intrapartum-related complications.
Ensuring access to respectful maternal and newborn health services and commodities during humanitarian crises is critical to improve outcomes for women and their newborns.
Most interventions to save newborn lives can be successfully implemented in humanitarian settings.
Technical Guidelines and Standards
WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience. WHO, 2022.
Standards for improving the quality of care for small and sick newborns in health facilities. WHO, 2020.
Quick reference for the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH). IAWG, 2019.
Inter-Agency field manual on reproductive health in humanitarian settings. IAWG, 2018.
WHO recommendations on newborn health. WHO, 2017.
WHO recommendations: intrapartum care for a positive childbirth experience. WHO, 2018.
WHO recommendations on antenatal care for a positive pregnancy experience. WHO, 2016.
Guideline: managing possible serious bacterial infection in young infants when referral is not feasible. WHO, 2015.
WHO recommendations on interventions to improve preterm birth outcomes. WHO, 2015.
Guidelines on basic newborn resuscitation. WHO, 2012.
WHO recommendations: optimizing health worker roles to improve access to key maternal and newborn health interventions through task shifting. WHO, 2012.
High Impact Practice - Kangaroo Mother Care. UNHCR, 2021.
Caring for newborns and children in the community. WHO, 2015.
Antenatal care recommendations adaptation toolkit. WHO, 2020.
Programmatic guidance for sexual and reproductive health in humanitarian and fragile settings during COVID-19 pandemic. IAWG, 2020.
Community case management in humanitarian settings: guidelines for humanitarian workers. UNICEF and USAID, 2019.
Operational guidelines on improving newborn health in refugee operations. UNHCR, 2014.
Operational guidance
Commodities and supplies manuals/guidelines
Assessment and Implementation Tools
Training tools and resources
ENC now! Helping Mothers and Babies Survive, Laerdal Global Health, AAP, and Jhpiego, .
Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (BEmONC) in crisis settings, select signal functions outreach refresher training. IAWG, 2021.
Trainings and tools for improving newborn health in humanitarian settings. Save the Children, Laerdal Global Health, Maternity Foundation, 2020.
Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for reproductive health in crisis situations: a distance learning module. WRC, 2019.
Essential steps for improving newborn survival. Global Health Learning Center, 2017.
Caring for newborns and children in the community. WHO, 2015.
Threatened preterm birth care: improving survival for preterm infants. Helping Mothers Survive, .
Data and estimates
Essential steps for improving newborn survival. Global Health Learning Center, 2017.
Levels and trends in child mortality: report 2021. UN Inter-agency Group for Child Morality Estimation. UNICEF; WHO; World Bank Group; United Nations, 2021.
A neglected tragedy: the global burden of stillbirths. United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. UNICEF, 2020.
Survive and thrive: transforming care for every small and sick newborn. WHO, 2019.
Maternal and newborn health coverage. UNICEF, 2021.
Stillbirth estimates. UNIGME, 2020.
UNICEF/WHO database on SDG 3.1.2 skilled attendance at birth. UNICEF, 2021.
Can available interventions end preventable deaths in mothers, newborn babies, and stillbirths, and at what cost? Bhutta ZA, Das JK, Bahl R, et al. Lancet. 2014, 384(9940):347-70, 2014.
Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (EPMM): a renewed focus for improving maternal and newborn health and wellbeing. WHO, 2021.
Committing to child survival: a promise renewed progress report. UNICEF, 2015.
Job aids
Articles
Antenatal care recommendations adaptation toolkit. WHO, 2020.
Lancet series on women’s and children’s health in conflict settings. BRANCH Consortium, 2021.
Essential newborn care practice at four primary health facilities in conflict affected areas of Bossaso, Somalia: a cross-sectional study. Amsalu R. Morris C. Chukwumalu K., et al. Conflict and Health, 2019.
Newborns in crisis: an outline of neonatal ethical dilemmas in humanitarian medicine. Schnall J. Hayden D. Wilkinson D. Dev World Bioeth, 2019.
Can available interventions end preventable deaths in mothers, newborn babies, and stillbirths, and at what cost? Bhutta ZA, Das JK, Bahl R, et al. Lancet. 2014, 384(9940):347-70, 2014.
Advocacy and Comms
Levels and trends in child mortality: report 2021. UN Inter-agency Group for Child Morality Estimation. UNICEF; WHO; World Bank Group; United Nations, 2021.
A neglected tragedy: the global burden of stillbirths. United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. UNICEF, 2020.
Survive and thrive: transforming care for every small and sick newborn. WHO, 2019.
Maternal and newborn health coverage. UNICEF, 2021.
Stillbirth estimates. UNIGME, 2020.
UNICEF/WHO database on SDG 3.1.2 skilled attendance at birth. UNICEF, 2021.
Lancet series on women’s and children’s health in conflict settings. BRANCH Consortium, 2021.
Essential newborn care practice at four primary health facilities in conflict affected areas of Bossaso, Somalia: a cross-sectional study. Amsalu R. Morris C. Chukwumalu K., et al. Conflict and Health, 2019.
Newborns in crisis: an outline of neonatal ethical dilemmas in humanitarian medicine. Schnall J. Hayden D. Wilkinson D. Dev World Bioeth, 2019.
Can available interventions end preventable deaths in mothers, newborn babies, and stillbirths, and at what cost? Bhutta ZA, Das JK, Bahl R, et al. Lancet. 2014, 384(9940):347-70, 2014.
Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (EPMM): a renewed focus for improving maternal and newborn health and wellbeing. WHO, 2021.
Surviving day one: caring for mothers and newborns in humanitarian emergencies on the day of childbirth. IAWG, 2019.
Committing to child survival: a promise renewed progress report. UNICEF, 2015.
Reports and briefs
Sections
Next: 2.1 Humanitarian Settings Across the Globe Previous: 1.2 Who is the Field Guide intended for?