MOU signing ceremony with TNK-BP

USAID is delighted to partner with TNK-BP to jointly co-sponsor the Mother and Infant Health Project under the leadership of the Ministry of Health.   The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation with TNK-BP today launches a new public-private partnership between the Ministry of Health, TNK-BP and USAID.  This particular partnership will work to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates in Ukraine, rates that today are still very high.   We are pleased to be continuing our partnership with the Ministry of Health and working to implement successful international evidence-based perinatal practices for mother and infant health throughout Ukraine. The current Mother and Infant Health Project is one of our most successful.  It has already: o Reduced deaths among newborns and their mothers.  There has not been a single instance of a maternal death in all 16 maternities supported by the project; o It has also reduced child abandonment in participating maternities; increased normal deliveries by 3-4 times; and eliminated newborns hypothermia, a major cause of neonatal deaths; o Led to cost savings in some of pilot sites.  For example, the Donetsk Maternity N.3 saved around $45,000 in 2005 after reduction of unnecessary non-evidence-based medical interventions in birthing practices.   The project has been so successful that it has generated demand from additional 15 oblast health care authorities, who have asked to be included in the project. Another result is this new co-sponsorship with TNK-BP Ukraine, which we will formalize today. Based on the tremendous success of this project, USAID plans to contribute $1.5 million each year for the next four years, or up to $6 million in total to develop this program nation-wide. Our joint collaboration in the area of mother and infant health is of strategic importance.  The goal is to nourish a healthy younger generation that will help Ukraine become a successful and prosperous country in the years ahead.  We thank TNK-BP Ukraine for joining the Ministry of Health and USAID in pursuing this very desirable goal.