Gel To Prevent Newborn From Infection

To help save newborns from infection, here is now an antiseptic gel known as “Navi Malam,” or chlorhexidine whichs applied to prevent umbilical cord infection, which happens to be a main cause behind the death of newborns in Nepal.
After Sangita Shrestha, gave birth to her baby daughter at Dhulikhel hospital, a nurse applied the gel to the stump of the newborn’s umbilical cord, wrapped her in cloth and placed her in the cot next to her mother. “I was naturallly worried and getting impatient. Now I am happy to know that my daughter is safe from infection,”
This gel is made by a local firm Lomus Pharmaceuticals and backed by the government, the U.S. aid agency and other donors, the gel was introduced in 2011 in the hospitals across Nepal and had helped to decrease the number of babies dying from umbilical cord infection. Since the introduction of the gel, according to USAID, the trails have shown a 23 percent drop in newborn deaths due to infection .
Nepal was the first country to adopt the gel for newborn cord care. Nigeria and Madagascar are in the process of implementing it into their health progams. While presenting the government with the “Pioneers Prize” for leading the cord care program, the head of USAID, Rajiv Shah said that “the United States will work to bring the chlorhexidine to the