KATHMANDU: Nearly four million newborn deaths that occur globally each year could be prevented with simple and cost-effective measures. Save the Children is going to air a documentary — ‘Invisible Lives’ — that suggests the solutions.

The risk of newborn death in Nepal is 33 per 1,000 births whereas the same in Europe and North America is around 3 per 1,000 births, according to Save the Children. The documentary is scheduled to be aired worldwide on January 26 at 20:30 GMT on BBC World.

Issuing a press statement, Save the Children said the documentary would examine how Nepal and Malawi are making progress in saving newborn lives and would explore how these countries are among the few on track to meeting the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal

of reducing deaths of children under 5 years of age by 2015 despite a number of obstacles.

“Nepal is a unique example of what can be accomplished when governments, United Nations agencies, donors and non-governmental organisations work together to support health systems in low-income countries,” said Dr Neena Khadka, programme director, Save the Children Nepal. She said despite poverty and political upheaval and a lack of resources, Nepal has managed to address the three main causes of newborn deaths — complications from preterm birth, infection and birth complications — with various approaches. “Nepal uses a range of community and facility-based strategies to improve newborn health along with emphasis on family care and behaviour change in communities,” Khadka stated. The National Health Strategy, endorsed by the government in 2004, is the guiding principle for community-based newborn care programmes.

It is estimated that around 80 per cent of births take place at home in Nepal and with difficulties in bringing newborns to health facilities because of access, tradition and taboos.

The documentary has tried to highlight the role of Female Community Health Volunteers in Nepal, who have played an important role in reducing the number of child deaths by 61 percent over the past decade.

The statement mentions that community-based integrated management of childhood illness and National Vitamin ‘A’ Programme and expanded programme of immunisation are key to success for Nepal to be on target to the MDG.