Kenya has become the first country in the world to join the Healthy Birth Initiative, a five-year global programme targeting the deaths of newborns.

The country loses 90 newborns every day. Its neonatal mortality rate of 21 deaths per 1,000 live births has not changed in 15 years.

At the launch of the initiative in Nairobi, two significant public funding commitments were made:

The Nakuru County Government pledged US$1.7 million in the next one year for maternal and newborn health to train health workers and establish facilities to test innovations that can save babies.

Director General for Health Dr. Patrick Amoth committed US$17 million in national government funds for Level 2 and 3 hospitals across the country, so that mothers who deliver at these facilities will no longer pay out of pocket.

The initiative is backed by Johns Hopkins affiliate Jhpiego and will work across 12 counties that account for more than 50% of Kenya’s annual neonatal deaths.

The total cost of the programme is KES 11 billion (US$85 million). That money is not yet fully on the table. The initiative is a collective call to governments, counties, and global partners to close the gap.