Dear friends,

When I see a premature newborn held skin-to-skin, I’m reminded that sometimes – beautifully! – the answers to our public health challenges can be simple. For some of the 15 million babies born too soon every year, particularly in resource poor settings, Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is the simple, lifesaving intervention they need to thrive.

This World Prematurity Day, our Tanzania team brought us the story of Zuhura Mfungo, who used KMC to keep her premature twins healthy. Thanks to the referral of an MCSP-trained community health worker and the support of midwives at her local facility, Zuhura and her babies defied the staggering odds against them.

With Thanksgiving just behind us, I’m feeling grateful for the simple solutions we’re pushing globally to every doorstep. I’m also delighted to see a doubling down of energy and collective will as we tackle our more intractable global health problems. Recently, MCSP’s Dr. Kathleen Hill joined other maternal health experts to discuss how best to put the new Lancet Maternal Health series into action. We’ve also helped develop a new Immunization Essentials e-course with everything you need to know to plan #immunization programs. And MCSP joined the world in honoring World Pneumonia Day this month.

We’re glad you’re on this journey with us and encourage you to share your feedback on Facebook and Twitter. Together we’re realizing the world we want for our mothers, newborns and children!

With warm regards,

Koki Agarwal, MD, MPH, DrPH
Director