The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) submits this report pursuant to the FY 2023 Joint Explanatory Statement incorporated by Sec. 7019(e) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2022 (P.L. 117-103) (SFOAA) which directed that:
Not later than 90 days after enactment of the Act, the USAID Administrator shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations on the following outcomes achieved during the previous fiscal year, disaggregated by country: (1) the approximate number of treatments provided to children for pneumonia and diarrhea, reported separately, as a result of U.S. Government assistance; and (2) the approximate number of mothers and infants who received postnatal care within two days of childbirth as a result of such assistance. Such report shall include detail on funds expended to achieve such outcomes. In 2014, USAID helped launch a global effort to end preventable child and maternal deaths.
Together with country partners, international organizations and non-governmental organizations from around the globe, the United States began working towards targets that, when met, would represent an end to preventable child deaths – with all countries having fewer than 20 deaths per 1,000 live births and fewer than 50 maternal deaths per 10,000 live births by 2035. It is alarming that global data from 2021 indicate a considerable unfinished agenda of ending preventable newborn and child deaths. Approximately 54 countries are off-track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target for reducing child mortality by 2030; and 63 countries are off-track to meet the SDG target for reducing neonatal mortality. Accelerating progress towards the 2030 targets requires increasing access to timely and quality postnatal care for mothers and newborns, and effective prevention, diagnosis and treatment of pneumonia, diarrhea, and other leading causes of preventable newborn and child deaths.
As part of the effort to prevent diarrhea and pneumonia, USAID support has contributed to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) reaching one billion individual children since its inception in 2000. Gavi-supported countries have vaccinated more than 316 million children with pneumococcal vaccine, which protects children from a common bacterial cause of pneumonia, and vaccinated 201 million children with rotavirus vaccine, which prevents a leading cause of severe diarrhea. Additionally, USAID supports programs that increase access to drinking water and sanitation services, and increase adoption of handwashing behaviors to prevent diarrhea and pneumonia. These programs include support to strengthen WASH governance, unlock financing, build institutional capacity, catalyze markets, and construct and enable WASH services at national and sub-national levels, and in communities and institutions like health care facilities. The Agency also works to promote early care seeking by family members, and to build the capacity of health care workers in community and facility-based health services to deliver quality care for timely diagnosis and appropriate management of these diseases and their complications. In FY 2022, as a result of USAID bilateral assistance (not including USAID’s contribution to Gavi), USAID missions reporting on these indicators (both priority and non-priority countries) documented a total of 5.1 million treatments were provided to children for pneumonia and 6.6 million treatments for diarrhea.
The number of mothers and infants who received postnatal care within two days of childbirth in FY 2022 as a result of USAID bilateral assistance is approximately 11 million. This number represents the estimated number of mother-newborn pairs who received postnatal care within two days of childbirth in USAID-assisted program areas of both priority and non-priority countries.
