Scaling-Up Household-to-Hospital Continuum of Care for Maternal and Newborn Health: Program summary 2008-2012

Vietnam has made significant progress in the reduction of maternal and child mortality rates over the past decade. However, neonatal mortality rates have not declined as rapidly and in 2012 accounted for nearly 50% of under-five deaths. Notable disparities persist in the availability and access to quality maternal and newborn care for ethnic minorities in mountainous and remote areas.

With a grant from Atlantic Philanthropies, Save the Children (SC) USA implemented a comprehensive model to improve maternal and newborn health (MNH), with activities linking households, communities, Community Health Centers (CHCs) and district and provincial hospitals. The first phase was implemented in Danang and Kjanh Hoa provinces from 2005-2007. The second phase expanded into three additional provinces with high proportions of ethnic minorities in Thai Nguyen, Thua Thien Hue and Vinh Long from 2008-2012, covering five out of the 58 provinces in the country.

The Household-to-Hospital Continuum of Care (HHCC) approach adopted in the program seeks to encourage preventive household and community practices and improve the quality, accessibility, and utilization of facility-based MNH services.