REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Six provinces with the highest mortality rates in Indonesia start promoting healthy mothers and newborns, as reported on the official website of the The US Agency for International Development (USAID) on Thursday. USAID Expanding Maternal and Newborn Survival (EMAS) program will work in Banten, Central Java, East Java, Northern Sumatra, South Sulawesi, and West Java. Almost 70 percent of all maternal deaths and 75 percent of newborn deaths occur in Java and Sumatra alone, mostly from preventable causes.

“The United States is pleased to launch EMAS, a program that will help improve the quality of health care services for mothers and newborns in Indonesia,” said USAID Indonesia Mission Director Glenn Anders, recently. “The program promotes healthy mothers and babies and improves responses to labor and delivery complications during pregnancy.”

The new $55 million program is a part of the US-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership, a commitment by President Barack Obama and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to increase cooperation between the United States and Indonesia.

An estimated 10,000 women die from complications during pregnancy, labor, and childbirth each year in Indonesia, representing one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the region. The lives of women and their newborns can be saved by preventing and treating complications during labor and delivery and the first few days of the newborn’s life by improving the timely recognition and referral of women and babies with complications. 

Each year, more than 80,000 newborn babies die within the first month of life from treatable conditions such as prematurity, birth asphyxia, and neonatal sepsis. The EMAS program is implemented by Jhpiego, Save the Children, and Research Triangle, Inc. (RTI) in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Muhammadiyah, and Rumah Sakit Budi Kemuliaan.

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