Scaling Up Perinatal Care: Health Benefits for Infant Survival in High-Burden Countries

We are pleased to announce the publication of a significant research study titled “Scaling Up Perinatal Care: Health Benefits for Infant Survival in High-Burden Countries”, conducted in collaboration with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.

This important work by Jamie Chong, our SSS Graduate student, Professor Günther Fink (Swiss TPH), and Assistant Professor Akshar Saxena (NTU), was supported by the ThinkSwiss Research Scholarship Program Asia-Pacific 2021. It reflects NTU’s strong commitment to fostering international research partnerships that address pressing global health challenges.

The study finds that scaling up perinatal care interventions in five high-burden countries — the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan — could prevent approximately 750,000 infant deaths annually. Such efforts could result in a 15% reduction in global under-five mortality, representing meaningful progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-Being).