Present Acceleration Plan for Neonatal Mortality Reduction in the Domnican Republic

Santo Domingo.- The Acceleration Plan for Neonatal Mortality Reduction in the Dominican Republic was presented by the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MISPAS) and the National Health Service (SNS) with the support of UNICEF, PAHO-CLAP, UNFPA, doctors from the Miguel Servet-Zaragoza University Hospital of Spain, and the Dominican Foundation for Mothers and Children (DOFMI).

This plan aims to reduce the number of newborns admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in ten maternity wards and reduce neonatal mortality in NICUs in four hospitals. The implementation of this plan will take place in the maternal and child hospitals of San Lorenzo de Los Mina, Universitario Nuestra Señora de La Altagracia, Reynaldo Almánzar, Renée Klang de Guzmán, Jaime Mota, Alejandro Cabral, Morillo King, Juan Pablo Pina, Ricardo Limardo, and La Altagracia.

The launch event was attended by executives from the collaborating institutions, including doctors Mario Lama, executive director of the National Health Service, Eladio Pérez, Vice Minister of Collective Health, and Rosa Elcarte, representative of UNICEF.

Mario Lama, head of the SNS, stated that the reduction of neonatal mortality is a priority for 2023, and the aim is to achieve a 25% reduction compared to 2022. The plan’s objectives are to reduce the number of newborns entering the NICU in 10 maternity wards by strengthening microbiology laboratories, biosafety, and prenatal consultation, and to reduce neonatal mortality in NICUs by strengthening biosafety, infection prevention, and control, on-site evaluations by international experts, and implementation of their recommendations in the four national reference maternity hospitals.

UNICEF representative, Dr. Elcarte, emphasized the importance of the commitment of all the institutions involved in reducing neonatal mortality, the health providers, the decision-makers, the international cooperation, and the donors to make this acceleration plan a reality.