9% reduction in neonatal mortality reported by SNS and UNICEF in 2023

Santo Domingo.- The National Health Service (SNS) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) jointly announced a 9% reduction in neonatal mortality across all hospitals in the Public Network in 2023 compared to the previous year.

This information emerged during a meeting involving 120 professionals from 16 hospitals and central-level managers, convened to assess strategies aimed at diminishing preventable maternal and neonatal deaths.

Martín Ortiz, the Director of Maternal, Child, and Adolescent services at the SNS, expressed the administration’s dedication to further improving these indicators, despite acknowledging the need for continued progress.

Carlos Carrera, representing UNICEF, encouraged participants to uphold high-quality hospital management, emphasizing respectful and dignified treatment in obstetric and neonatal care for a positive experience for mothers and newborns. He also underscored the importance of ensuring timely birth registrations, asserting that the right to identity is crucial for safeguarding and enjoying other children’s rights.

Carrera added, “To achieve universal health coverage and ensure more newborns survive and thrive, we cannot leave the most vulnerable families behind. The preventable tragedy of losing children before their first breath should never be accepted, and it requires strong political will and increased investment in access to primary health care for women and children.”