Ten healthcare innovations that can slash death toll by 1.2 mn in poor countries

A recent study has revealed ten health care innovations whose application in low-resource countries can save lives of some 1.2 million mothers and newly-born children in 2015.

The present annual global death toll of mothers and children under 5 years is 6.9 million.

The ten innovations, which have been are proven to be inexpensive, are ready to be deployed where they are needed most by the end of 2015.

The innovations need to be applied to poorest countries of the world, which accounts for more than 95 percent of the global toll of maternal, newborn and young child deaths.

This call for healthcare innovation is led by PATH, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Government of Norway, the United States Agency for International Development, the United Kingdom's Department for International Development, UNICEF, Grand Challenges Canada and the United Nations Foundation.

The ten health care innovations includes:

Kit Yamoyo is a kit that packages anti-diarrheal treatments in a container to fit over Coca Cola bottles in delivery cartons.

Anti-Shock Garment is a non-pneumatic garment that wraps around the lower part of the body to stop excessive bleeding after childbirth and keeps blood in vital organs until the mother can receive treatment at an emergency care facility.

Chlorhexidine is a low-cost antiseptic that prevents infections to enter an infant's body through newly cut umbilical cords.

Rotovac is a new vaccine to prevent rotavirus related diarrhea, which is common in developing countries.

The Backpack-PLUS delivers essential commodities that community health workers need to do their jobs at the time of delivery.

Helping Babies Breathe, an initiative of the American Academy of Pediatrics and others, is working to train one million birth attendants to ensure every baby's first breath, no matter where they are born.

Bubble CPAP, a bubble continuous positive airway device, saves lives of babies with severe respiratory illness, including pneumonia, by forcing oxygen into babies' lungs.

Phone Oximeter, a low-cost mobile phone-based monitoring device that measures blood oxygen levels can help front-line health workers diagnose and manage pre-eclampsia and pneumonia.

Sayana Press is an inexpensive contraceptive packaged in a prefilled, single dose injection system called Uniject.

Magnesium sulfate is the most effective treatment to stop severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, pregnancy-related conditions that are the second-leading cause of maternal death.