Editorial: Neonatal health in low- and middle-income countries. Now is the time

Abstract

on the Research Topic Neonatal health in low-and middle-income countries. Now is the time The first 28 days after birth-the neonatal period-is the most vulnerable month for a child (1). The global "Every Newborn" action plan, which was endorsed by the WHO General Assembly in 2014, sets out an ambitious vision of a world with no preventable stillbirths or neonatal deaths (2). The action plan, endorsed in 2014 by 194 member states, articulates a goal that all countries reach the target neonatal mortality rate (NMR) of 12 or less newborn deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030, as well as commit to ongoing work to reduce death and disability. Achieving this interim goal is essential to ensure that no newborn is left behind. This metric was adopted as a target for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 3.2 (3). Despite a decline of more than 50% in the global neonatal mortality between 2000 and 2021, 2.4 million neonatal deaths still occur each year. The majority (79%) of these deaths take place in countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, where the social system and health care settings are inadequately resourced.This editorial team was pleased to use this special issue as an opportunity to identify new frontiers in global neonatal health, especially in the context of two global crises-the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and climate change. We received 65 manuscripts, of which 40 (62%) were accepted. These 40 included 27 (68%) original research manuscripts, five (13%) brief research reports, three (8%) perspective pieces, two (5%) reviews, one (3%) case report, one (3%) on hypothesis and theory, and one (3%) on methods.