The Healthy Newborn Partnership: improving newborn survival and health through partnership policy and action.

Of the 129 million infants born each year 3.9 million die before completing the first 28 days of life most in developing countries. Reducing these deaths requires the coordinated and collaborative action of many programs and agencies within an integrated health system as well as changes in household practices. The Healthy Newborn Partnership (HNP) formed in 2000 aims to increase awareness about newborn survival and to improve communication and collaboration among organizations already working on newborn health. This brief outlines ways in which HNP members have helped to focus attention on newborn health issues. Through working groups annual meetings and collaboration between member organizations HNP has developed a functional model for advocacy information exchange and joint action at local national and global levels. (excerpt)