THE UN COMMISSION ON

LIFE-SAVING COMMODITIES
FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN

Helping Babies Survive Asia Regional Workshop

April 2015
Donna Vivio
Senior Newborn Health Advisor
USAID/Washington

UN Commission on Life-saving
Commodities for Women and Children:
What is it?
UN Secretary Generals Global Strategy for Womens
and Childrens Health

Utilize available and underused commodities to help

increase survival and health of women and children
Change the way overlooked commodities are made,
distributed and used
Use high level advocacy to translate technical knowledge
into political action

The 10 Recommendations
Shaping global markets

Supply and awareness

Shaping local delivery

markets

Demand and utilization

Innovative financing

Reaching women and

children

Quality strengthening

Performance and
accountability

Regulatory efficiency

Product innovation

The 13 Commodities
3 reproductive health (female condoms, implants, and
emergency contraception).
3 maternal health (magnesium sulfate, oxytocin and
misoprostol);
4 newborn health (chlorhexidine, injectable antibiotics,
resuscitation equipment for asphyxia, and antenatal
corticosteroid);
3 child health (oral rehydration solution, zinc, amoxicillin);

UNCoLSC TRT Configuration

Leadership

Results

Newborn Commodities: Injectable

Antibiotics/Sepsis Management
Aim: Address barriers that prevent
appropriate and timely use of injectable
antibiotics/management of severe infection.
Work plan includes
WHO Guidelines
Dissemination, tools, operationalization

Newborn Commodities: Chlorhexidine

Purpose: Advance the use of 7.1% chlorhexidine digluconate
for umbilical cord care through advocacy, research and
technical assistance
Aims:
Country Guidance for Implementing the WHO Revised
Recommendation on Umbilical Cord Care
Technical assistance to pilots and country planning
Helped in attaining inclusion of CHX in WHO Essential
Medicines List

Newborn Commodities: Antenatal Corticosteroids

Increase coverage of ACS to Guidelines for appropriate
use.
improve outcomes of
preterm births
Metrics
Provide evidence
Research questions
Decrease barriers to use:
WHO Essential Medicines List

Operations research
Training materials (with
Survive & Thrive)

Newborn Commodities: Resuscitation

Aim: Assure accessibility
of newborn
resuscitation services,
including quality
devices.
Tools and technical
assistance to countries:

Quantification tool
Market shaping
Procurement tool
Specifications
Manufacturers: PATH,
CHAI, UNICEF

Quality Improvement
Framework
ENAP Metrics group
PATH Field Guides:

Linkages
Survive and Thrive Purchasing/Selection Guides for
maternal and neonatal health technologies developed by
PATH and available online (PATH and HNN websites).

Created to outline available spectrum of technologies that

address the Survive and Thrive Global Development Alliance
goals.
Provide an overview of specified technologies, focusing on
qualities important for increasing usage in low resource settings.
Not every product on the market was reviewed within each
technology category.
Special consideration given to devices developed specifically for
low resource settings and give examples of devices designed for
high resource settings for comparison.

The Survive and Thrive

Purchasing/Selection Guides
Birth and C-Section Simulators
CPAP Devices
Fetal Monitoring Devices
Portable Ultrasound Devices
Rechargeable Lighting Devices
Thermoregulation Devices
http://www.path.org/publications/detail.php?i=2511
http://www.healthynewbornnetwork.org/resource/survive-and-thrivepurchasing-guides-selection-maternal-and-neonatal-health-technologies

Additional Links..
Practical Selection of Neonatal Resuscitators, Version 3:
A Field Guide
Survive and Thrive: Purchasing Guides for Selection of
Maternal and Neonatal Health Technologies
Chlorhexidine for Umbilical Cord Care Technical Resource
Page on the Healthy Newborn Network
Quantification Tool for Neonatal Resuscitation Devices:
Version 1

THANK YOU